Feasibility of Bi-Temporal Airborne Laser Scanning Data in Detecting Species-Specific Individual Tree Crown Growth of Boreal Forests
The tree crown, with its functionality of assimilation, respiration, and transpiration, is a key forest ecosystem structure, resulting in high demand for characterizing tree crown structure and growth on a spatiotemporal scale. Airborne laser scanning (ALS) was found to be useful in measuring the st...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/19/4845 |
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| author | Maryam Poorazimy Ghasem Ronoud Xiaowei Yu Ville Luoma Juha Hyyppä Ninni Saarinen Ville Kankare Mikko Vastaranta |
| author_facet | Maryam Poorazimy Ghasem Ronoud Xiaowei Yu Ville Luoma Juha Hyyppä Ninni Saarinen Ville Kankare Mikko Vastaranta |
| author_sort | Maryam Poorazimy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The tree crown, with its functionality of assimilation, respiration, and transpiration, is a key forest ecosystem structure, resulting in high demand for characterizing tree crown structure and growth on a spatiotemporal scale. Airborne laser scanning (ALS) was found to be useful in measuring the structural properties associated with individual tree crowns. However, established ALS-assisted monitoring frameworks are still limited. The main objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of detecting species-specific individual tree crown growth by means of airborne laser scanning (ALS) measurements in 2009 (T1) and 2014 (T2). Our study was conducted in southern Finland over 91 sample plots with a size of 32 × 32 m. The ALS crown metrics of width (WD), projection area (A<sub>2D</sub>), volume (V), and surface area (A<sub>3D</sub>) were derived for species-specific individually matched trees in T1 and T2. The Scots pine (<i>Pinus sylvestris</i>), Norway spruce (<i>Picea abies</i> (L.) H. Karst), and birch (<i>Betula</i> sp.) were the three species groups that studied. We found a high capability of bi-temporal ALS measurements in the detection of species-specific crown growth (Δ), especially for the 3D crown metrics of V and A<sub>3D</sub>, with Cohen’s D values of 1.09–1.46 (<i>p</i>-value < 0.0001). Scots pine was observed to have the highest relative crown growth (rΔ) and showed statistically significant differences with Norway spruce and birch in terms of rΔWD, rΔA<sub>2D</sub>, rΔV, and rΔA<sub>3D</sub> at a 95% confidence interval. Meanwhile, birch and Norway spruce had no statistically significant differences in rΔWD, rΔV, and rΔA<sub>3D</sub> (<i>p</i>-value < 0.0001). However, the amount of rΔ variability that could be explained by the species was only 2–5%. This revealed the complex nature of growth controlled by many biotic and abiotic factors other than species. Our results address the great potential of ALS data in crown growth detection that can be used for growth studies at large scales. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:13:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3b86798cca0e467ebc32870f9469d864 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:13:48Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-3b86798cca0e467ebc32870f9469d8642023-11-23T21:39:40ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922022-09-011419484510.3390/rs14194845Feasibility of Bi-Temporal Airborne Laser Scanning Data in Detecting Species-Specific Individual Tree Crown Growth of Boreal ForestsMaryam Poorazimy0Ghasem Ronoud1Xiaowei Yu2Ville Luoma3Juha Hyyppä4Ninni Saarinen5Ville Kankare6Mikko Vastaranta7School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, 80101 Joensuu, FinlandSchool of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, 80101 Joensuu, FinlandDepartment of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Finnish Geospatial Research Institute, National Land Survey of Finland, 02430 Masala, FinlandDepartment of Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki, 00790 Helsinki, FinlandDepartment of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Finnish Geospatial Research Institute, National Land Survey of Finland, 02430 Masala, FinlandSchool of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, 80101 Joensuu, FinlandSchool of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, 80101 Joensuu, FinlandSchool of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, 80101 Joensuu, FinlandThe tree crown, with its functionality of assimilation, respiration, and transpiration, is a key forest ecosystem structure, resulting in high demand for characterizing tree crown structure and growth on a spatiotemporal scale. Airborne laser scanning (ALS) was found to be useful in measuring the structural properties associated with individual tree crowns. However, established ALS-assisted monitoring frameworks are still limited. The main objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of detecting species-specific individual tree crown growth by means of airborne laser scanning (ALS) measurements in 2009 (T1) and 2014 (T2). Our study was conducted in southern Finland over 91 sample plots with a size of 32 × 32 m. The ALS crown metrics of width (WD), projection area (A<sub>2D</sub>), volume (V), and surface area (A<sub>3D</sub>) were derived for species-specific individually matched trees in T1 and T2. The Scots pine (<i>Pinus sylvestris</i>), Norway spruce (<i>Picea abies</i> (L.) H. Karst), and birch (<i>Betula</i> sp.) were the three species groups that studied. We found a high capability of bi-temporal ALS measurements in the detection of species-specific crown growth (Δ), especially for the 3D crown metrics of V and A<sub>3D</sub>, with Cohen’s D values of 1.09–1.46 (<i>p</i>-value < 0.0001). Scots pine was observed to have the highest relative crown growth (rΔ) and showed statistically significant differences with Norway spruce and birch in terms of rΔWD, rΔA<sub>2D</sub>, rΔV, and rΔA<sub>3D</sub> at a 95% confidence interval. Meanwhile, birch and Norway spruce had no statistically significant differences in rΔWD, rΔV, and rΔA<sub>3D</sub> (<i>p</i>-value < 0.0001). However, the amount of rΔ variability that could be explained by the species was only 2–5%. This revealed the complex nature of growth controlled by many biotic and abiotic factors other than species. Our results address the great potential of ALS data in crown growth detection that can be used for growth studies at large scales.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/19/4845LiDARgrowth and yieldmonitoringScots pineNorway sprucebirch |
| spellingShingle | Maryam Poorazimy Ghasem Ronoud Xiaowei Yu Ville Luoma Juha Hyyppä Ninni Saarinen Ville Kankare Mikko Vastaranta Feasibility of Bi-Temporal Airborne Laser Scanning Data in Detecting Species-Specific Individual Tree Crown Growth of Boreal Forests Remote Sensing LiDAR growth and yield monitoring Scots pine Norway spruce birch |
| title | Feasibility of Bi-Temporal Airborne Laser Scanning Data in Detecting Species-Specific Individual Tree Crown Growth of Boreal Forests |
| title_full | Feasibility of Bi-Temporal Airborne Laser Scanning Data in Detecting Species-Specific Individual Tree Crown Growth of Boreal Forests |
| title_fullStr | Feasibility of Bi-Temporal Airborne Laser Scanning Data in Detecting Species-Specific Individual Tree Crown Growth of Boreal Forests |
| title_full_unstemmed | Feasibility of Bi-Temporal Airborne Laser Scanning Data in Detecting Species-Specific Individual Tree Crown Growth of Boreal Forests |
| title_short | Feasibility of Bi-Temporal Airborne Laser Scanning Data in Detecting Species-Specific Individual Tree Crown Growth of Boreal Forests |
| title_sort | feasibility of bi temporal airborne laser scanning data in detecting species specific individual tree crown growth of boreal forests |
| topic | LiDAR growth and yield monitoring Scots pine Norway spruce birch |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/19/4845 |
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