GEARS LAB AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO

3D Changes in Aboveground Biomass

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​Three dimensional change detection of aboveground biomass

Principle Investigators: Jonathan Greenberg, John Armston, Laura Duncanson, Steve Hancock and Carlos Ramirez
​
Collaborators: Laura Wade, Theo Hartsook


​Overview: We propose to create a Carbon Monitoring Systems (CMS) with the goal of estimating three- dimensional changes in forest biomass over a variety of different disturbance regimes using a suite of different remotely sensed data including airborne and terrestrial LiDAR, and UAV and ground-based multi-angle digital imagery processed using structure-from-motion techniques. In collaboration with the US Forest Service, we will collect these data before and after a disturbance, to determine the sensitivity of these technologies to accumulation and loss of biomass in the overstory and understory. We believe this work will lead to decreasing uncertainties in estimating changes in biomass, as well as providing important information on disturbance risk and successional dynamics that can impact long-term ecosystem processes.
Picture
Terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) collection of near-surface vegetation growth.

Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS)
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We have been actively scanning sites across the Northern Sierras since 2017, to track intra- and interannual growth and loss of biomass.  

We have also been fortunate to have the opportunity to collect before- and after- scans of three major fires: the Ferguson Fire, the Spring Fire, and the Walker Fire.  These before/after scans allow us an unprecedented view of fuels loss caused by wildfires.

References:
  • Marchi, N., P. Weisberg, J. Greenberg, Z. Hou, R. Marzano, F. Pirotti, G. Marques, M. Piras, and E. Lingua. "Remote sensing application for deadwood identification and characterisation." In EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, vol. 20, p. 16440. 2018.
  • Greenberg, J.A., Z. Hou, R. Hart, N. Marchi, A. Parra, R. Tompkins, A. Harpold, B. Sullivan, P. Weisberg, B. Morrison, S. Conway, C. Ramirez, S. Hancock, J. Armston, and L. Duncanson. Vegetation change in response to an extreme snowfall event using multitemporal terrestrial laser scanning. ForestSAT. College Park, MD.
  • Greenberg, J.A., Z. Hou, C. Ramirez, R. Hart, N. Marchi, A.S. Parra, B. Gutierrez, R. Tompkins, A. Harpold, B. Sullivan, P. Weisberg. 2017. Vegetation response to the 2016-2017 extreme Sierra Nevada snowfall event using multitemporal terrestrial laser scanning: initial results. American Geographic Union Fall Meeting, New Orleans, LA.
  • Hou, Z., Xu, Q., Greenberg, J.A. 2017. CMS 3D-Changes in Forest Biomass in Plumas and Tahoe. Tahoe GIS User Group Meeting, South Lake Tahoe, CA.
  • Marchi, N., Hou, Z., Hart, R., Parra, A., Ramirez, C., Conway, S., Sullivan, B., Harpold, A., Weisberg, P., Greenberg, J.A. 2017. Assessing the influence of snowmelt on vegetation growth: a LiDAR perspective. 2nd annual NASA Airborne Snow Observatory Workshop, Mammoth Lakes, CA.
Funding:
  • Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, “Fuels Mapping in the Lake Tahoe Basin Using Airborne and Terrestrial LiDAR”. 2018. J.A. Greenberg.
  • U.S. Forest Service, “Developing Terrestrial LiDAR Field Validation Protocols & Techniques”. 2017. J.A. Greenberg.
  • NASA Carbon Monitoring System: Continuing Prototype Product Development, Research, and Scoping, “Three dimensional change detection of aboveground biomass”. 2017. J.A. Greenberg, J. Armston, L. Duncanson, S. Hancock, T. Painter, S. Conway, and C. Ramirez.

Contact us for more information on programs, collaborations and datasets!


Email

jgreenberg@unr.edu

Mailing Address

Natural Resources & Environmental Science
University of Nevada, Reno
1664 N Virginia St MS 0186
Reno, NV 89557
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