Estimating forest canopy bulk density using six indirect methods

Canopy bulk density (CBD) is an important crown characteristic needed to predict crown fire spread, yet it is difficult to measure in the field. Presented here is a comprehensive research effort to evaluate six indirect sampling techniques for estimating CBD. As reference data, detailed crown fuel b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of forest research Vol. 35; no. 3; pp. 724 - 739
Main Authors: Keane, R.E, Reinhardt, E.D, Scott, J, Gray, K, Reardon, J
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Ottawa, Canada NRC Research Press 01.03.2005
National Research Council of Canada
Canadian Science Publishing NRC Research Press
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Biomass
bulk density
Canopies
canopy
conifer needles
coniferous forests
Coniferous trees
Correlation analysis
Correlation coefficient
Dendrometry. Forest inventory
dry matter content
estimation
fire behavior
fire hazard
Fires
Foliage
forest fires
Forestry
Forests
Fuels
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
measurement
Measurement techniques
measuring devices
Photography
sampling
Sampling techniques
spatial distribution
Species composition
Stems
Vertical distribution
United States
North America
America
Bulk density
Regression equation
Forests
Forest mensuration
Estimation
Ground based measurement
West
Statistical estimation
Method
Sampling design
Statistical method
Stand characteristics
Indirect method
Measurement technique
Forestry
Gymnospermae
Softwood forest tree
Spermatophyta
Coniferales
Canopy(vegetation)
Coniferous forest
ISSN:0045-5067, 1208-6037
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Canopy bulk density (CBD) is an important crown characteristic needed to predict crown fire spread, yet it is difficult to measure in the field. Presented here is a comprehensive research effort to evaluate six indirect sampling techniques for estimating CBD. As reference data, detailed crown fuel biomass measurements were taken on each tree within fixed-area plots located in five important conifers types in the western United States, using destructive sampling following a series of four sampling stages to measure the vertical and horizontal distribution of canopy biomass. The six ground-based indirect measurement techniques used these instruments: LI-COR LAI-2000, AccuPAR ceptometer, CID digital plant canopy imager, hemispherical photography, spherical densiometer, and point sampling. These techniques were compared with four aggregations of crown biomass to compute CBD: foliage only, foliage and small branchwood, foliage and all branchwood (no stems), and all canopy biomass components. Most techniques had the best performance when all canopy biomass components except stems were used. Performance dropped only slightly when the foliage and small branchwood canopy biomass aggregation (best approximates fuels available for crown fires) was employed. The LAI-2000, hemispherical photography, and CID plant canopy imager performed best. Regression equations that predict CBD from gap fraction are presented for all six techniques.
Bibliography:http://hdl.handle.net/10113/1239
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ISSN:0045-5067
1208-6037
DOI:10.1139/x04-213