Treesearch

Semantic segmentation of point clouds using deep learning (DL) has been the subject of research in forestry in recent years due to its potential applications. Several scientific and management disciplines, such as biodiversity monitoring, ecosystem carbon assessments, or forest management could benefit from this technique. However, it requires manual segmentation of point clouds to be used as training data. This process is highly labour-intensive and time-consuming, and there is a notable lack of publicly available datasets to support the development of accurate DL semantic segmentation...

Effective estimation of fuel load is critical for mitigating wildfire risks. Here, we evaluate the performance of mobile laser scanning (MLS) and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) to estimate fuel loads across multiple vegetation layers. Data were collected in two forest regions: the North Kaibab (NK) Plateau in Arizona and Monroe Mountain (MM) in Utah. We used random forest models to predict vegetation attributes, evaluating the performance of full models and transferred models using R2, RMSE, and bias. The MLS consistently outperformed the TLS system, particularly for canopy-related...

A primary prediction of climate change ecology is that species will track their climate niche poleward and upslope. However, studies have shown species responding in surprising ways. In this study, we aim to understand the impact of global change on species ranges by considering both climate and habitat changes. Using occupancy analysis of acoustic survey data in the mountains of the northeastern United States, we tested specific predictions of range responses to warming (shifting upslope), precipitation change (shifting downslope), and forest composition change (shifting downslope). We...

Background. Dead fine fuel moisture content (FMC) is critical for predicting fire behavior and effects. Spatiotemporal variation in FMC occurs due to to variability in atmospheric conditions at the fuel interface, which is influenced by interacting factors including local forest structure and topography. Previous research has primarily examined these patterns over coarse spatial scales and relied on few factors to explain variability. Aims. In this study, we monitored the spatiotemporal variability in FMC and characterized how controls of FMC vary over a fire season. FMC was sampled at 80...

Forest conversions are an important consideration of the forest products sector. Both third-party certifications, such as the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and government regulation, such as the European Union Regulation on Deforestation Free Supply Chains, require knowledge of conversions in fiber supply regions. Here we develop a new approach to estimate some relevant forest conversion metrics for economic regions of the United States. Across economic regions, forest conversion rates were small. For example, gross annual forest loss to agriculture was <0.044%, gross annual natural...

Background. Recent studies looking to advance knowledge of fire-effects on trees have used both heated water baths and experimental laboratory fires to apply heat to plant tissues. Aims. We assessed whether heated water baths and experimental laboratory fires caused xylem cell wall deformation and increased vulnerability to embolism. Methods. Using Pinus ponderosa and Pinus monticola saplings, we measured impacts using both heated water bath treatments and experimental laboratory fires, with parameters elucidated by prior studies that observed effects associated with lethal outcomes. Key...

Mapping surface and ground fuels is key to supporting wildland fire research and management. Fuel loading, structure, distribution, and continuity, along with other factors, strongly influence fire spread and consumption. It is, therefore, essential to understand drivers of fuel accumulation such as the aboveground tree inputs from abscission, dispersion, decomposition, disturbances, and management practices (e.g., prescribed fire), particularly in fire-dependent forest ecosystems such as longleaf flatwoods savannas of the southeastern US. In 2022, we collected and measured litter load,...

Southern pine forests play a key role in the ecological function and economic vitality of the southeastern United States. High-resolution terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) has become an indispensable tool for advancing tree structural research and monitoring. A critical challenge in this field is the accurate segmentation of leaf and wood components, which directly impacts the reliability of Quantitative Structure Models (QSMs). Segmentation techniques have progressed, but most existing methods are tailored for broadleaf species, with limited exploration for coniferous species such as...

Forests are central to climate solutions (1), and transparent and accurate data on forest carbon stocks and fluxes are critical for scientists and decision-makers. Satellite-based forest carbon maps have recently proliferated from public agencies such as NASA and the private sector. These maps have tended toward ever-higher spatial resolutions. However, higher spatial resolutions increase the uncertainties of carbon maps, rendering products at very high spatial resolution largely meaningless for forest carbon monitoring.

Aerial retardant drops are widely used in wildfire suppression, yet their effectiveness in slowing fire spread remains difficult to quantify at scale. This study evaluates their impact on wildfire rate of spread (ROS) using a framework that combines observed and counterfactual (synthetic) drop locations from 62 Oregon wildfires. Synthetic drops were generated to simulate a no-suppression baseline, enabling comparison of ROS with and without suppression. We trained two random forest classifiers: one with real and synthetic drops (full model) and one with only synthetic drops. Both incorporat...