Using handheld mobile laser scanning to quantify fine-scale surface fuels and detect changes post-disturbance in northern California forests
The understory plays a critical role in the disturbance dynamics of forest, as it influences wildfire behavior. Unfortunately, the structure of understory fuels is difficult to quantify due to heterogeneity. LiDAR can measure changes in forest structure more rapidly, comprehensively, and accurately...
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Elsevier
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25002055 |
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| author | Alanna J. Post Brieanne Forbes Zane Cooper Kristi Faro Catherine Seel Matthew Clark Mathias Disney Lisa Patrick Bentley |
| author_facet | Alanna J. Post Brieanne Forbes Zane Cooper Kristi Faro Catherine Seel Matthew Clark Mathias Disney Lisa Patrick Bentley |
| author_sort | Alanna J. Post |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The understory plays a critical role in the disturbance dynamics of forest, as it influences wildfire behavior. Unfortunately, the structure of understory fuels is difficult to quantify due to heterogeneity. LiDAR can measure changes in forest structure more rapidly, comprehensively, and accurately than manual approaches, but remote sensing is more frequently applied to the overstory. We evaluated the use of handheld mobile laser scanning (HMLS) to measure changes in fine-scale surface fuels following wildfire and timber harvest in Northern Californian forests, USA. The ability of HMLS to quantify surface fuels was validated by destructively sampling vegetation within a 3D frame and comparing destructive-based volumes with HMLS-based occupied volume estimates. There was a positive linear relationship between volume estimates, and occupied volume estimated from 1-cm voxels had the best relationship with measured biomass compared to larger voxel sizes. Next, HMLS was used to scan forest plots where wildfire or timber harvest occurred, producing bi-temporal structural measurements. Plot level HMLS estimates without ground voxels revealed regrowth of live vegetation one-year post-fire that was not apparent from field measurements collected via Brown’s transects. Comparison between Brown’s transects and HMLS estimate showed similar decreases in surface fuels post-wildfire, further indicating that the increase in estimated volume one-year post-fire comes from vegetation regrowth rather than dead fuel accumulation. HMLS can be a valuable tool for land stewards to rapidly quantify understory vegetation, especially following disturbance. Assessing understory vegetation is crucial for reducing wildfire risk and fuels might not be captured fully post-wildfire using traditional approaches. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b721cdb62ec749df89f8eae28c2df89c |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj-art-b721cdb62ec749df89f8eae28c2df89c2025-08-20T01:49:30ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2025-03-0117211327610.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113276Using handheld mobile laser scanning to quantify fine-scale surface fuels and detect changes post-disturbance in northern California forestsAlanna J. Post0Brieanne Forbes1Zane Cooper2Kristi Faro3Catherine Seel4Matthew Clark5Mathias Disney6Lisa Patrick Bentley7Department of Biology, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, USADepartment of Biology, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, USADepartment of Biology, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, USADepartment of Biology, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, USADepartment of Biology, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, USACenter for Interdisciplinary Geospatial Analysis and Department of Geography, Environment, & Planning, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, USADepartment of Geography, University College London, London, United Kingdom; NERC National Centre for Earth Observation, University College London, London, United KingdomDepartment of Biology, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, USA; Corresponding author at: Dept. of Biology, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, 94928, USA.The understory plays a critical role in the disturbance dynamics of forest, as it influences wildfire behavior. Unfortunately, the structure of understory fuels is difficult to quantify due to heterogeneity. LiDAR can measure changes in forest structure more rapidly, comprehensively, and accurately than manual approaches, but remote sensing is more frequently applied to the overstory. We evaluated the use of handheld mobile laser scanning (HMLS) to measure changes in fine-scale surface fuels following wildfire and timber harvest in Northern Californian forests, USA. The ability of HMLS to quantify surface fuels was validated by destructively sampling vegetation within a 3D frame and comparing destructive-based volumes with HMLS-based occupied volume estimates. There was a positive linear relationship between volume estimates, and occupied volume estimated from 1-cm voxels had the best relationship with measured biomass compared to larger voxel sizes. Next, HMLS was used to scan forest plots where wildfire or timber harvest occurred, producing bi-temporal structural measurements. Plot level HMLS estimates without ground voxels revealed regrowth of live vegetation one-year post-fire that was not apparent from field measurements collected via Brown’s transects. Comparison between Brown’s transects and HMLS estimate showed similar decreases in surface fuels post-wildfire, further indicating that the increase in estimated volume one-year post-fire comes from vegetation regrowth rather than dead fuel accumulation. HMLS can be a valuable tool for land stewards to rapidly quantify understory vegetation, especially following disturbance. Assessing understory vegetation is crucial for reducing wildfire risk and fuels might not be captured fully post-wildfire using traditional approaches.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25002055LiDARTLSHMLSDisturbanceSurface fuelsVoxels |
| spellingShingle | Alanna J. Post Brieanne Forbes Zane Cooper Kristi Faro Catherine Seel Matthew Clark Mathias Disney Lisa Patrick Bentley Using handheld mobile laser scanning to quantify fine-scale surface fuels and detect changes post-disturbance in northern California forests Ecological Indicators LiDAR TLS HMLS Disturbance Surface fuels Voxels |
| title | Using handheld mobile laser scanning to quantify fine-scale surface fuels and detect changes post-disturbance in northern California forests |
| title_full | Using handheld mobile laser scanning to quantify fine-scale surface fuels and detect changes post-disturbance in northern California forests |
| title_fullStr | Using handheld mobile laser scanning to quantify fine-scale surface fuels and detect changes post-disturbance in northern California forests |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using handheld mobile laser scanning to quantify fine-scale surface fuels and detect changes post-disturbance in northern California forests |
| title_short | Using handheld mobile laser scanning to quantify fine-scale surface fuels and detect changes post-disturbance in northern California forests |
| title_sort | using handheld mobile laser scanning to quantify fine scale surface fuels and detect changes post disturbance in northern california forests |
| topic | LiDAR TLS HMLS Disturbance Surface fuels Voxels |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25002055 |
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