Allometric Scaling and Resource Limitations Model of Tree Heights: Part 1. Model Optimization and Testing over Continental USA

Remote Sensing

Yuli Shi³  Sungho Choi¹  Xiliang Ni⁷  Sangram Ganguly⁶  Gong Zhang⁴  Hieu V. Duong¹¹  Michael A. Lefsky¹¹  Marc Simard²  Sassan S. Saatchi²  Shihyan Lee⁹  Wenge Ni-Meister⁹  Shilong Piao¹⁰  Chunxiang Cao^3,8  Ramakrishna R. Nemani^3,5 

[1] Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Gove Dr., Pasadena, CA 91109, USA; E-Mails:;School of Remote Sensing, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China; E-Mail:;Department of Watershed Science, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA; E-Mail:;Biospheric Science Branch, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA; E-Mail:;Bay Area Environmental Research Institute (BAERI)/NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA; E-Mail:;Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, 675 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA; E-Mail:;State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Sciences, Institute of Remote Sensing Applications, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; E-Mails:;Department of Geography, Hunter College of CUNY, New York, NY 10065, USA; E-Mails:;College of Urban and Environmental Sciences and Sino-French Institute for Earth System Science, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; E-Mail:;Center for Ecological Analysis of Lidar, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA; E-Mails:

关键词: tree height;    allometric scaling law;    resource limitations;    GLAS;    model optimization;   

DOI  :  10.3390/rs5010284

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

A methodology to generate spatially continuous fields of tree heights with an optimized Allometric Scaling and Resource Limitations (ASRL) model is reported in this first of a multi-part series of articles. Model optimization is performed with the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) waveform data. This methodology is demonstrated by mapping tree heights over forested lands in the continental USA (CONUS) at 1 km spatial resolution. The study area is divided into 841 eco-climatic zones based on three forest types, annual total precipitation classes (30 mm intervals) and annual average temperature classes (2 °C intervals). Three model parameters (area of single leaf, α, exponent for canopy radius, η, and root absorption efficiency, γ) were selected for optimization, that is, to minimize the difference between actual and potential tree heights in each of the eco-climatic zones over the CONUS. Tree heights predicted by the optimized model were evaluated against GLAS heights using a two-fold cross validation approach (R² = 0.59; RMSE = 3.31 m). Comparison at the pixel level between GLAS heights (mean = 30.6 m; standard deviation = 10.7) and model predictions (mean = 30.8 m; std. = 8.4) were also performed. Further, the model predictions were compared to existing satellite-based forest height maps. The optimized ASRL model satisfactorily reproduced the pattern of tree heights over the CONUS. Subsequent articles in this series will document further improvements with the ultimate goal of mapping tree heights and forest biomass globally.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.