Aaltomuoto – avain laserkeilainhavaintojen syvällisempään ymmärrykseen

Tieteen tori: Yksityiskohtainen metsävaratiet

Mapping understory trees using airborne discrete return LiDAR

Tasaikäisen metsän alle muodostuvilla alikasvoksilla on merkitystä puunkorjuun, metsänuudistamisen, näkemä-ja maisema-analyysien sekä biodiversiteetin ja hiilitaseen arvioinnin kannalta. Ilma-aluksista tehtävä laserkeilaus on osoittautunut tehokkaaksi kaukokartoitusmenetelmäksi varttuneiden puustojen mittauksessa. Laserkeilauksen käyttöönotto operatiivisessa metsäsuunnittelussa mahdollistaa aiempaa tarkemman tiedon tuottamisen alikasvoksista, mikäli alikasvoksen ominaisuuksia voidaan tulkita laseraineistoista. Tässä työssä käytettiin tarkasti mitattuja maastokoealoja ja kaikulaserkeilausaineistoja (discrete return LiDAR) usealta vuodelta (1–2 km lentokorkeus, 0,9–9,7 pulssia m-2). Laserkeilausaineistot oli hankittu Optech ALTM3100 ja Leica ALS50-II sensoreilla. Koealat edustavat suomalaisia tasaikäisiä männiköitä eri kehitysvaiheissa. Tutkimuskysymykset olivat: 1) Minkälainen on alikasvoksesta saatu lasersignaali yksittäisen pulssin tasolla ja mitkä tekijät signaaliin vaikuttavat? 2) Mikä on käytännön sovelluksissa hyödynnettävien aluepohjaisten laserpiirteiden selitysvoima alikasvospuuston ominaisuuksien ennustamisessa? Erityisesti haluttiin selvittää, miten laserpulssin energiahäviöt ylempiin latvuskerroksiin vaikuttavat saatuun signaaliin, ja voidaanko laserkaikujen intensiteetille tehdä energiahäviöiden korjaus. Puulajien väliset erot laserkaiun intensiteetissä olivat pieniä ja vaihtelivat keilauksesta toiseen. Intensiteetin käyttömahdollisuudet alikasvoksen puulajin tulkinnassa ovat siten hyvin rajoittuneet. Energiahäviöt ylempiin latvuskerroksiin aiheuttivat alikasvoksesta saatuun lasersignaaliin kohinaa. Energiahäviöiden korjaus tehtiin alikasvoksesta saaduille laserpulssin 2. ja 3. kaiuille. Korjauksen avulla pystyttiin pienentämään kohteen sisäistä intensiteetin hajontaa ja parantamaan kohteiden luokittelutarkkuutta alikasvoskerroksessa. Käytettäessä 2. kaikuja oikeinluokitusprosentti luokituksessa maan ja yleisimmän puulajin välillä oli ennen korjausta 49,2–54,9 % ja korjauksen jälkeen 57,3–62,0 %. Vastaavat kappa-arvot olivat 0,03–0,13 ja 0,10–0,22. Tärkein energiahäviöitä selittävä tekijä oli pulssista saatujen aikaisempien kaikujen intensiteetti, mutta hieman merkitystä oli myös pulssin leikkausgeometrialla ylemmän latvuskerroksen puiden kanssa. Myös 3. kaiuilla luokitustarkkuus parani. Puulajien välillä havaittiin eroja siinä, kuinka herkästi ne tuottavat kaiun laserpulssin osuessa puuhun. Kuusi tuotti kaiun suuremmalla todennäköisyydellä kuin lehtipuut. Erityisen selvä tämä ero oli pulsseilla, joissa oli energiahäviöitä. Laserkaikujen korkeusjakaumapiirteet voivat siten olla riippuvaisia puulajista. Sensorien välillä havaittiin selviä eroja intensiteettijakaumissa, mikä vaikeuttaa eri sensoreilla hankittujen aineistojen yhdistämistä. Myös kaiun todennäköisyydet erosivat jonkin verran sensorien välillä, mikä aiheutti pieniä eroavaisuuksia kaikujen korkeusjakaumiin. Aluepohjaisista laserpiirteistä löydettiin alikasvoksen runkolukua ja keskipituutta hyvin selittäviä piirteitä, kun rajoitettiin tarkastelu yli 1 m pituisiin puihin. Piirteiden selitysvoima oli parempi runkoluvulle kuin keskipituudelle. Selitysvoima ei merkittävästi alentunut pulssitiheyden pienentyessä, mikä on hyvä asia käytännön sovelluksia ajatellen. Lehtipuun osuutta ei pystytty selittämään. Tulosten perusteella kaikulaserkeilausta voi olla mahdollista hyödyntää esimerkiksi ennakkoraivaustarpeen arvioinnissa. Sen sijaan alikasvoksen tarkempi luokittelu (esim. puulajitulkinta) voi olla vaikeaa. Kaikkein pienimpiä alikasvospuita ei pystytä havaitsemaan. Lisää tutkimuksia tarvitaan tulosten yleistämiseksi erilaisiin metsiköihin.Understory trees often emerging beneath dominant tree layer in even-aged stands have significance for timber harvesting operations, forest regeneration, landscape and visibility analysis, biodiversity and carbon balance. Airborne laser scanning (ALS) has proven to be an efficient remote sensing method in inventory of mature forest stands. Recent introduction of ALS to operational forest inventory systems could potentially enable cost-efficient acquisition of information on understory tree layer. In this study, accurate field reference and discrete return LiDAR data (1–2 km flying altitude, 0.9–9.7 pulses m-2) were used. The LiDAR data were obtained with Optech ALTM3100 and Leica ALS50-II sensors. The field reference plots represented typical commercially managed, even-aged pine stands in different developmental stages. Aims of the study were 1) to study the LiDAR signal from understory trees at pulse level and the factors affecting the signal, and 2) to explore what is the explanatory power of area-based LiDAR features in predicting the properties of understory tree layer. Special attention was paid in studying the effect of transmission losses to upper canopy layers on the obtained signal and possibilities to make compensations for transmission losses to the LiDAR return intensity. Differences in intensity between understory tree species were small and varied between data sets. Thus, intensity is of little use in tree species classification. Transmission losses increased noise in intensity observations from understory tree layer. Compensations for transmission losses were made to the 2nd and 3rd return data. The compensations decreased intensity variation within targets and improved classification accuracy between targets. In classification between ground and most abundant understory tree species using 2nd return data, overall classification accuracies were 49.2–54.9 % and 57.3–62.0 %, and kappa values 0.03–0.13 and 0.10–0.22, before and after compensations, respectively. The classification accuracy improved also in 3rd return data. The most important variable explaining the transmission losses was the intensity from previous echoes and pulse intersection geometry with upper canopy layer had a minor effect. The probability of getting an echo from an understory tree was studied, and differences between tree species were observed. Spruce produced an echo with a greater probability than broadleaved trees. If the pulse was subject to transmission losses, the differences were increased. The results imply that area-based LiDAR height distribution metrics could depend on tree species. There were differences in intensity data between sensors, which are a problem if multiple LiDAR data sets are used in inventory systems. Also the echo probabilities differed between sensors, which caused minor changes in LiDAR height distribution metrics. Area-based predictors for stem number and mean height of understory trees were detected if trees with height < 1 m were not included. In general, predictions for stem number were more accurate than for mean height. Explanatory power of the studied features did not markedly decrease with decreasing pulse density, which is important for practical applications. Proportion of broadleaved trees could not be predicted. As a conclusion, discrete return LiDAR data could be utilized e.g. in detecting the need for initial clearings before harvesting operations. However, accurate characterization of understory trees (e.g. detection of tree species) or detection of the smallest seedlings seems to be out of reach. Additional research is needed to generalize the results to different forests

Kohti metsien laserkeilausmittausten syvällisempää ymmärrystä

This thesis presents basic research on how airborne LiDAR measurements of forest vegetation are influenced by the interplay of the geometric-optical properties of vegetation, sensor function and acquisition settings. Within the work, examining the potential of waveform (WF) recording sensors was of particular interest. Study I focused upon discrete return LiDAR measurements of understory trees. It showed that transmission losses influenced the intensity of observations and echo triggering probabilities, and also skewed the distribution of echoes towards those triggered by highly reflective or dense targets. The intensity data were of low value for species identification, but the abundance of understory trees could be predicted based on echo height distributions. In study II, a method of close-range terrestrial photogrammetry was developed. Images were shown as being useful for visualizations and even the geometric quality control of LiDAR data. The strength of backscattering was shown to correlate with the projected area extracted from the images. In study III, a LiDAR simulation model was developed and validated against real measurements. The model was able to be used for sensitivity analyses to illustrate how plant structure or different pulse properties influence the WF data. Both simulated and real data showed that WF data were able to capture small-scale variations in the structural and optical properties of juvenile forest vegetation. Study IV illustrated the potential of WF data in the species classification of larger trees. The WF features that separated tree species were also dependent on other variables such as tree size and phenology. Inherent between-tree differences in structure were quantified and the effects of pulse density on the features were examined. Overall, the thesis provides basic findings on how LiDAR pulses interact with forest vegetation, and serves to link theory with real observations. The results contribute to an improved understanding of LiDAR measurements and their limitations, and thus provide support for further improvements in both data interpretation methods and specific sensor design.Väitöskirja käsittelee metsien mittausta ilma-aluksesta tehdyn laserkeilauksen avulla. Perustutkimusluonteisessa työssä selvitettiin, miten metsän rakenne ja heijastusominaisuudet sekä keilain- ja keilauskohtaiset parametrit vaikuttavat laserkeilaimella tehtyihin mittauksiin. Lisäksi selvitettiin aaltomuotolaserkeilainten käyttömahdollisuuksia verrattuna yleisemmin käytettyihin kaikulaserkeilaimiin. Osajulkaisussa I tutkittiin alikasvospuustosta kaikulaserkeilaimella tehtyjä mittauksia. Energiahäviöt ylempiin latvuskerroksiin vaikuttivat todennäköisyyteen saada kaikuja alikasvospuista ja vääristivät kaikujen jakaumaa siten, että kaikuja saatiin eniten voimakkaasti heijastavista kohteista. Laserkaikujen intensiteetti ei soveltunut alikasvoksen puulajin tunnistukseen, mutta alikasvospuuston määrää pystyttiin ennustamaan kaikujen korkeusjakauman avulla. Osajulkaisussa II kehitettiin maastofotogrammetriaan perustuva menetelmä laserkeilaustutkimuksen tueksi. Maastossa otettujen digikuvien avulla pystyttiin visualisoimaan laserkaikuja ja -aaltomuotoja sekä tutkimaan niiden geometrista tarkkuutta. Kuvilta laskettu kasvillisuuden silhuettiala oli yhteydessä lasersignaalin voimakkuuteen. Osajulkaisussa III kehitettiin simulointimalli lasermittausten mallintamiseen ja verrattiin simuloituja aineistoja taimikkokasvillisuudesta aaltomuotolaserkeilaimella tehtyihin mittauksiin. Simuloimalla näytettiin, miten kasvillisuuden rakenne ja laserkeilaimen ominaisuudet vaikuttavat mittauksiin. Tulokset osoittivat, että aaltomuotolaserkeilaimella tehdyt mittaukset kuvaavat taimikkokasvillisuuden rakennetta ja niitä on mahdollista hyödyntää taimikkokasvillisuuden kartoituksessa. Osajulkaisussa IV tutkittiin aaltomuotolaserkeilaimella tehtyjen mittausten käyttöä puulajin tunnistuksessa. Aaltomuotolaserkeilaus paransi tuloksia verrattuna kaikulaserin tallentaman intensiteetin käyttöön. Lisäksi selvitettiin, mitkä muut tekijät puulajin lisäksi vaikuttavat lasermittauksiin. Tunnetuista tekijöistä puuyksilöiden välistä lasersignaalin vaihtelua selittivät parhaiten puun pituus ja fenologinen tila, mutta aineistoon jäi paljon puuyksilöstä riippuvaa selittämätöntä vaihtelua. Väitöskirjan tulokset lisäävät ymmärrystä metsäkasvillisuudesta tehtyhin laserkeilausmittauksiin vaikuttavista tekijöistä ja luovat perustaa keilainlaitteiden sekä aineistojen tulkintamenetelmien jatkokehitykselle

Quantitative analysis of the links between forest structure and land surface albedo on a global scale

Forests are critical in regulating climate by altering the Earth's surface albedo. Therefore, there is an urgent need to enhance our knowledge about the effects of forest structure on albedo. Here, we present a global assessment of the links between forest structure and albedo at a 1-km spatial resolution using generalized additive models (GAMs). We used remotely sensed data to obtain variables representing forest structure, including forest density, leaf area index, and tree cover, during the peak growing season in 2005 with pure forest pixels that cover similar to 7% of the Earth's surface. Furthermore, we estimated black-sky albedo at a solar zenith angle of 38 degrees using the most recent collection of the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS; version 6) at shortwave, near-infrared, and visible spectral regions. In addition, for the first time, we mapped the magnitude of the relationship between forest structure and albedo at each pixel with a 0.5-degree spatial resolution. Our results suggested that forest structure may modulate albedo in most of the sub-biomes. The response of shortwave albedo was always positive to the leaf area index and negative to the tree cover (except for deciduous broadleaf forests in mediterranean and temperate regions), while the response to forest density varied across space in 2005. The spatial map affirmed that the links between forest structure and albedo vary over geographical locations. In sum, our study emphasized the importance of forest structure in the surface albedo regulation. This paper provides the first spatially explicit evidence of the magnitude of relationships between forest structure and albedo on a global scale.Peer reviewe

Spectral composition of shortwave radiation transmitted by forest canopies

| openaire: EC/H2020/771049/EU//FREEDLESKey message: Leaf area index and species composition influence red-to-near-infrared and red-to-shortwave-infrared transmittance ratios of boreal and temperate forest canopies. In this short communication paper, we present how the spectral composition of transmitted shortwave radiation (350–2200 nm) varies in boreal and temperate forests based on a detailed set of measurements conducted in Finland and Czechia. Our results show that within-stand variation in canopy transmittance is wavelength dependent, and is the largest for sparse forest stands. Increasing leaf area index (LAI) reduces the overall level of transmittance as well as red-to-near-infrared and red-to-shortwave-infrared transmittance ratios. Given the same LAI, these ratios are lower for broadleaved than for coniferous forests. These results demonstrate the importance of both LAI and forest type (broadleaved vs. coniferous) in determining light quality under forest canopies.Peer reviewe

Crown level clumping in Norway spruce from terrestrial laser scanning measurements

| openaire: EC/H2020/771049/EU//FREEDLESThe clumping of coniferous needles into shoots is widely acknowledged as a structural feature that cannot be ignored in radiation regime models of coniferous forests. However, higher level clumping, i.e. the aggregation of leaves and shoots in tree crowns and forest stands, is still rarely accounted for in the models. Clumping reduces the light interception of and increases the light penetration depth in a plant stand. To improve forest radiation regime models with respect to this forest structural parameter, we propose a method that can quantify clumping at different hierarchical levels by estimating the silhouette to total area ratio from point clouds acquired by laser scanners. Our method is based on estimating attenuation coefficients in a voxel grid, and subsequently computing the total leaf area and spherically averaged silhouette area of a tree crown or forest stand. We tested our method with empirical data in young Norway spruce trees, where we compared leaf area and silhouette area to destructive andphotogrammetric reference measurements. The accuracy of leaf area estimates depended strongly on the voxel size, with voxel sizes below 10 cm side length exhibiting up to 100% higher estimates than the reference leaf area, and large voxels with 90 cm side length being closest to the reference measurements due to crown clumping. The silhouette area estimates varied less with voxel size and were slightly higher than the reference estimates. We analyzed possible error sources and point out ways to improve the measurements of leaf and silhouette area for conifer trees using laser scanning data.Peer reviewe

Contribution of woody elements to tree level reflectance in boreal forests

| openaire: EC/H2020/771049/EU//FREEDLES Publisher Copyright: © 2021, Finnish Society of Forest Science. All rights reserved.Spectral mixture analysis was used to estimate the contribution of woody elements to tree level reflectance from airborne hyperspectral data in boreal forest stands in Finland. Knowledge of the contribution of woody elements to tree or forest reflectance is important in the context of lea area index (LAI) estimation and, e.g., in the estimation of defoliation due to insect outbreaks, from remote sensing data. Field measurements from four Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), five Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) and four birch (Betula pendula Roth and Betula pubescens Ehrh.) dominated plots, spectral measurements of needles, leaves, bark, and forest floor, airborne hyper-spectral as well as airborne laser scanning data were used together with a physically-based forest reflectance model. We compared the results based on simple linear combinations of measured bark and needle/leaf spectra to those obtained by accounting for multiple scattering of radiation within the canopy using a physically-based forest reflectance model. The contribution of forest floor to reflectance was additionally considered. The resulted mean woody element contribution estimates varied from 0.140 to 0.186 for Scots pine, from 0.116 to 0.196 for birches and from 0.090 to 0.095 for Norway spruce, depending on the model used. The contribution of woody elements to tree reflectance had a weak connection to plot level forest variables.Peer reviewe

Maastolaserkeilaimen intensiteettiarvot tarkentavat metsän latvuston rakennepiirteiden arviointia

Non peer reviewe

Estimation of boreal forest floor lichen cover using hyperspectral airborne and field data

| openaire: EC/H2020/771049/EU//FREEDLES Funding Information: This study was supported by the Academy of Finland (DIMEBO, grant number: 323004). This study has also received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 771049). The text reflects only the authors’ view and the Agency is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. Publisher Copyright: © 2023, Finnish Society of Forest Science. All rights reserved.Lichens are sensitive to competition from vascular plants, intensive silviculture, pollution and reindeer and caribou grazing, and can therefore serve as indicators of environmental changes. Hyperspectral remote sensing data has been proved promising for estimation of plant diversity, but its potential for forest floor lichen cover estimation has not yet been studied. In this study, we investigated the use of hyperspectral data in estimating ground lichen cover in boreal forest stands in Finland. We acquired airborne and in situ hyperspectral data of lichen-covered forest plots, and applied multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis to estimate the fractional cover of ground lichens in these plots. Estimation of lichen cover based on in situ spectral data was very accurate (coefficient of determination (r2) 0.95, root mean square error (RMSE) 6.2). Estimation of lichen cover based on airborne data, on the other hand, was fairly good (r2 0.77, RMSE 11.7), but depended on the choice of spectral bands. When the hyperspectral data were resampled to the spectral resolution of Sentinel-2, slightly weaker results were obtained. Tree canopy cover near the flight plots was weakly related to the difference between estimated and measured lichen cover. The results also implied that the presence of dwarf shrubs could influence the lichen cover estimates.Peer reviewe

A spectral analysis of stem bark for boreal and temperate tree species

| openaire: EC/H2020/771049/EU//FREEDLES Funding Information: The study was partly funded by Academy of Finland (grant: DIMEBO 323004). This study has also received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No 771049). The text reflects only the authors’ view and the Agency is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.The woody material of forest canopies has a significant effect on the total forest reflectance and on the interpretation of remotely sensed data, yet research on the spectral properties of bark has been limited. We developed a novel measurement setup for acquiring stem bark reflectance spectra in field conditions, using a mobile hyperspectral camera. The setup was used for stem bark reflectance measurements of ten boreal and temperate tree species in the visible (VIS) to near-infrared (NIR) (400–1000 nm) wavelength region. Twenty trees of each species were measured, constituting a total of 200 hyperspectral reflectance images. The mean bark spectra of species were similar in the VIS region, and the interspecific variation was largest in the NIR region. The intraspecific variation of bark spectra was high for all studied species from the VIS to the NIR region. The spectral similarity of our study species did not correspond to the general phylogenetic lineages. The hyperspectral reflectance images revealed thatthe distributions of per-pixel reflectance values within images were species-specific. The spectral library collected in this study contributes toward building a comprehensive understanding of the spectral diversity of forests needed not only in remote sensing applications but also in, for example, biodiversity or land surface modeling studies.Peer reviewe