Using LiDAR to evaluate forest landscapes and health factors and their relationship to habitat of the endangered Mount Graham red squirrel on the Coronado National Forest, Pinaleno Mountains, Arizona [Chap. 12]
| Authors: | John Anhold, Brent Mitchell, Craig Wilcox, Tom Mellin, Melissa Merrick, Ann M. Lynch, Mike Walterman, Donald Falk, John Koprowski, Denise Laes, Don Evans, Haans Fisk |
| Year: | 2015 |
| Type: | General Technical Report |
| Station: | Rocky Mountain Research Station |
| Source: | In: Potter K. M.; Conkling, B. L. Forest Health Monitoring: National Status, Trends, and Analysis 2014. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-209. Asheville NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. p. 133-142. |
Abstract
The Pinaleno Mountains in southeastern Arizona represent a Madrean sky island ecosystem that contains the southernmost expanse of spruce-fir forest type in North America. This ecosystem is also the last remaining habitat for the Mt. Graham red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamenis), a federally listed endangered species. Due to a general shift in species composition and forest structure of spruce-fir type forests across the Southwest, the ecosystem is being threatened by large high-severity fires, insect infestation, and a general loss of biodiversity. These risk factors have led the Coronado National Forest to begin a forest restoration effort using LiDAR (light detection and ranging) as a tool for identifying habitat and cataloging forest inventory variables at a landscape level. LiDAR was identified as an efficient tool for filling the data collection needs because field data collection is restricted due to rugged terrain and safety concerns.