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Canopy cover estimates for individual tree attributes

Informally Refereed

Abstract

In most forest inventory data, it is not feasible to estimate the canopy coverage of trees having certain characteristics due to the lack of information on crown size. In this study, data from the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program was used to assign crown sizes to individual trees using published crown width models. This process effectively links trees to area such that canopy cover area estimates can be made using domains that include tree-level attributes (e.g., canopy cover of red maple having total height ≥80 feet). Advantages of implementing this approach are 1) estimation can proceed as with any other estimate of area derived from FIA data, and 2) canopy cover estimates provide different information than classical indicators such as number of trees. A disadvantage is the need to dissolve overlapping crowns after the tree-level domain is selected. Two examples are provided to illustrate applications of the method.

Parent Publication

Keywords

statistics, estimation, sampling, modeling, remote sensing, forest health, data integrity, environmental monitoring, cover estimation, international forest monitoring

Citation

Westfall, James A.; Morin, Randall S. 2012. Canopy cover estimates for individual tree attributes. In: Morin, Randall S.; Liknes, Greg C., comps. Moving from status to trends: Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) symposium 2012; 2012 December 4-6; Baltimore, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-105. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. [CD-ROM]: 248-253.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/42754