Creating Landscape-Scale Site Index Maps for the Southeastern US Is Possible with Airborne LiDAR and Landsat Imagery

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dc.contributor.authorGopalakrishnan, Ranjith
dc.contributor.authorKauffman, Jobriath S.
dc.contributor.authorFagan, Matthew E.
dc.contributor.authorCoulston, John W.
dc.contributor.authorThomas, Valerie A.
dc.contributor.authorWynne, Randolph H.
dc.contributor.authorFox, Thomas R.
dc.contributor.authorQuirino, Valquiria F.
dc.date.accessioned2019-03-20T15:47:37Z
dc.date.available2019-03-20T15:47:37Z
dc.date.issued2019-03-06
dc.description.abstractSustainable forest management is hugely dependent on high-quality estimates of forest site productivity, but it is challenging to generate productivity maps over large areas. We present a method for generating site index (a measure of such forest productivity) maps for plantation loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) forests over large areas in the southeastern United States by combining airborne laser scanning (ALS) data from disparate acquisitions and Landsat-based estimates of forest age. For predicting canopy heights, a linear regression model was developed using ALS data and field measurements from the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the US Forest Service (n = 211 plots). The model was strong (R² = 0.84, RMSE = 1.85 m), and applicable over a large area (~208,000 sq. km). To estimate the site index, we combined the ALS estimated heights with Landsat-derived maps of stand age and planted pine area. The estimated bias was low (􀀀0.28 m) and the RMSE (3.8 m, relative RMSE: 19.7%, base age 25 years) was consistent with other similar approaches. Due to Landsat-related constraints, our methodology is valid only for relatively young pine plantations established after 1984. We generated 30 m resolution site index maps over a large area (~832 sq. km). The site index distribution had a median value of 19.4 m, the 5th percentile value of 13.0 m and the 95th percentile value of 23.3 m. Further, using a watershed level analysis, we ranked these regions by their estimated productivity. These results demonstrate the potential and value of remote sensing based large-area site index maps.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was funded by the PINEMAP project (http://pinemap.org) sponsored by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). We would also like to acknowledge the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) McIntire-Stennis Formula Grant.en_US
dc.description.urihttps://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/10/3/234en_US
dc.format.extent22 pagesen_US
dc.genrejournal articlesen_US
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/m2qblo-aek1
dc.identifier.citationGopalakrishnan, R.; Kauffman, J.S.; Fagan, M.E.; Coulston, J.W.; Thomas, V.A.; Wynne, R.H.; Fox, T.R.; Quirino, V.F. Creating Landscape-Scale Site Index Maps for the Southeastern US Is Possible with Airborne LiDAR and Landsat Imagery. Forests 2019, 10, 234en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.3390/f10030234
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/13082
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherMDPIen_US
dc.relation.isAvailableAtThe University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Geography and Environmental Systems Department Collection
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Faculty Collection
dc.rightsThis item is likely protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Unless on a Creative Commons license, for uses protected by Copyright Law, contact the copyright holder or the author.
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)*
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/*
dc.subjectforestryen_US
dc.subjectforest site productivityen_US
dc.subjectsite indexen_US
dc.subjectlandsaten_US
dc.subjectairborne laser scanningen_US
dc.subjectforest productivity mappingen_US
dc.subjectForest Inventory and Analysis (FIA)en_US
dc.titleCreating Landscape-Scale Site Index Maps for the Southeastern US Is Possible with Airborne LiDAR and Landsat Imageryen_US
dc.typeTexten_US

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