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| Collecting hyperspectral data using aircraft. |
Researchers with OFRI’s Stock Quality Assessment Program knew that chlorophyll* content is a useful indicator of seedling condition. But could they assess overall forest condition from the chlorophyll in the canopy?
In the late 1990s, they began investigating whether hyperspectral images taken from aircraft could reveal whether a forest is under stress that might not yet be visible. These images show the amount of light of different wavelengths that plants reflect or emit. By comparing hyperspectral images with ground data on forest condition, especially chlorophyll content, researchers were able to determine how to “read” the images for signs of stress. Relatively quickly and with the aid of many partners, they were able to develop a system for assessing the condition of maple stands in Ontario. They then moved on to key boreal forest species, such as black spruce, jack pine, aspen, and white birch, with promising results.
They are now working on the more challenging task of assessing forest condition in mixed forests via both hyperspectral sensing and lidar, which uses a laser to determine spatial information about things on the Earth’s surface, including trees. The goal is to incorporate hyperspectral sensing into forest resources inventory, to enable efficient, cost-effective species identification and assessment of forest condition across Ontario, which could become a more pressing concern as the climate changes.
*Chlorophyll is the compound in plants that makes them green. Plants use chlorophyll for photosynthesis - the process of converting energy from the sun into sugars and starches the plants use as food.
Want to know more?
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Insights (Vol. 8, No. 1, Page 17)
Bioindicators of forest condition: A physiological, remote sensing approach (The Forestry Chronicle)
