Integrating Vegetation 3D Structure and Ecological Modeling for Continental Scale Assessments of Biodiversity, Biomass and Disturbance
Ralph
Dubayah, University of Maryland, dubayah@umd.edu
(Presenting)
George
Hurtt, University of New Hampshire, george.hurtt@unh.edu
Scott
Goetz, Woods Hole Research Center, sgoetz@whrc.org
Andy
Hansen, University of Montana, hansen@montana.edu
The overall science goal of our research is to link lidar remote sensing of vegetation structure and ecosystem modeling to improve the characterization and predictability of terrestrial systems for both ecosystem dynamics and, as a secondary goal, associated patterns of biodiversity. In addressing this science goal we also answer questions of direct relevance concerning the development of requirements for space missions (in particular DESDynI) focused on the observation of vertical vegetation structure and the ecosystems models that will use these observations. In particular, our research focuses on two primary questions:
(1) How can patterns of ecosystem structure be observed and modeled at regional to continental scales using an approach that combines remotely-sensed observations of canopy structure with ecosystem modeling?
(2) What are the satellite measurement requirements, derived from ecosystem model requirements, needed to accurately quantify patterns of ecosystem structure and improve model predictions of future dynamics for carbon and biodiversity studies?
In this poster we summarize our methodological framework and report on progress to date on several aspects of our research, including: the production of fine-scale structure measurements using airborne lidar data from LVIS; incorporation of height observations from ICESAT observations into the Ecosystem Demography (ED) model, and; validation and sensitivity studies of ED model outputs of ecosystem structure and dynamics and to variations in vertical canopy structure inputs at different spatial scales to determine measurement requirements for carbon and biodiversity studies.
Presentation Type: Poster
Poster Session: Carbon Cycle Science
NASA TE Funded Awards Represented:
Dubayah, Ralph
Integrating Vegetation 3D Structure and Ecological modeling for Continental Scale Assessments of Biodiversity, Biomass and Disturbance