Application of multidimensional structural characterization to detect and describe moderate forest disturbance

Ecosphere

Lisa T. Haber¹  Ellen Stuart‐Haëntjens¹  Christopher M. Gough¹  Jeff W. Atkins¹  Jonathan A. Walter²  Brady S. Hardiman³  Brenden E. McNeil⁴  Robert T. Fahey⁵  David A. Orwig⁶  Ben Bond‐Lamberty⁷  Atticus E. L. Stovall⁸  Elizabeth LaRue⁹  Jason M. Tallant^1,10 

[1] Department of Biology Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond Virginia 23284 USA;Department of Environmental Sciences University of Virginia Charlottesville Virginia USA;Department of Forestry and Natural Resources Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana 47907 USA;Department of Geology and Geography West Virginia University Morgantown West Virginia USA;Department of Natural Resources and the Environment Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering University of Connecticut Storrs Connecticut USA;Harvard University Harvard Forest Petersham Massachusetts USA;Joint Global Change Research Institute Pacific Northwest National Lab College Park Maryland USA;NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt Maryland USA;United States Geological Survey Sacramento California 95819 USA;University of Michigan Biological Station Pellston Michigan USA;

关键词: disturbance;    ecosystem ecology;    forest structure;    lidar;    NEON;    remote sensing;   

DOI  :  10.1002/ecs2.3156

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract The study of vegetation community and structural change has been central to ecology for over a century, yet the ways in which disturbances reshape the physical structure of forest canopies remain relatively unknown. Moderate severity disturbances affect different canopy strata and plant species, resulting in variable structural outcomes and ecological consequences. Terrestrial lidar (light detection and ranging) offers an unprecedented view of the interior arrangement and distribution of canopy elements, permitting the derivation of multidimensional measures of canopy structure that describe several canopy structural traits (CSTs) with known links to ecosystem function. We used lidar‐derived CSTs within a machine learning framework to detect and describe the structural changes that result from various disturbance agents, including moderate severity fire, ice storm damage, age‐related senescence, hemlock woolly adelgid, beech bark disease, and chronic acidification. We found that fire and ice storms primarily affected the amount and position of vegetation within canopies, while acidification, senescence, pathogen, and insect infestation altered canopy arrangement and complexity. Only two of the six disturbance agents significantly reduced leaf area, counter to common assumptions regarding many moderate severity disturbances. While findings are limited in their generalizability due to lack of replication among disturbances, they do suggest that the current limitations of standard disturbance detection methods—such as optical‐based remote sensing platforms, which are often above‐canopy perspectives—limit our ability to understand the full ecological and structural impacts of disturbance, and to evaluate the consistency of structural patterns within and among disturbance agents. A more broadly inclusive definition of ecological disturbance that incorporates multiple aspects of canopy structural change may potentially improve the modeling, detection, and prediction of functional implications of moderate severity disturbance as well as broaden our understanding of the ecological impacts of disturbance.

【 授权许可】

Unknown