Comparison of image and rapid field assessments of riparian zone condition in Australian tropical savannas

Suitable methods for measuring and monitoring the condition of riparian environments are being investigated by government agencies responsible for maintaining these environments in Australia. The objective of this work was to compare two riparian condition assessment approaches, the Tropical Rapid Appraisal of Riparian Condition (TRARC) method developed for rapid on-ground assessment of the environmental condition of savanna riparian zones and an image based riparian condition monitoring scheme. Measurements derived from these two approaches were compared and correlated. The sample representativeness of the TRARC method was evaluated and the cost-effectiveness and suitability for multi-temporal analysis of the two approaches were assessed. Two high spatial resolution multi-spectral QuickBird satellite images captured in 2004 and 2005 and coincident field data covering sections of the Daly River in the Northern Territory, Australia were used in this work. Both field and image data were processed to map indicators of riparian zone condition including percentage canopy cover, organic litter on the ground, canopy continuity, tree clearing, bank stability, and flood damage. Spectral vegetation indices, image segmentation, and supervised classification were used to produce riparian health indicator maps. QuickBird image data were used to examine if the spatial distribution of TRARC transects provided a representative sample of ground based estimates of riparian health indicators. Covering approximately 3% of the study area, the sample mean of the TRARC estimates of individual indicators of riparian zone condition were in most cases within 20% of the global mean derived from the whole imaged riparian area. The cost-effectiveness of the image based approach was compared to that of the ground based TRARC method. Results showed that the TRARC method was more cost-effective at spatial scales from 1 km to 200 km of river in relatively homogeneous riparian zones along rivers with only one channel, while image based assessment becomes more feasible at regional scales (200–2000 km of river). A change detection analysis demonstrated that image data can provide detailed information on gradual change, while the TRARC method is less suited for multi-temporal analysis due to the ranked data format, which inhibits precise detection of change. However, results from both methods were considered to complement each other for single date assessment of riparian zones if used at appropriate spatial scales.     

河岸带植被结构功能及修复技术研究进展

河岸带狭义上是指河水陆地交界处的区域,是处于陆地生态系统和水生生态系统之间的一种过渡状态,河岸带可以说是功能最完备但同时也是极脆弱的生态系统,因此具有重要的作用和研究价值。本文介绍了河岸带定义的发展、河岸带植被的结构、生态功能及河岸带修复技术的进展。     

Satellite monitoring of land-use and land-cover changes in northern Togo protected areas

Remote-sensing data for protected areas in northern Togo, obtained in three different years （2007, 2000, and 1987）, were used to assess and map changes in land cover and land use for this drought prone zone. The normalized difference vegetation index （NDVI） was applied to the images to map changes in vegetation. An unsupervised classification, followed by classes recoding, filtering, identifications, area computing and post-classification process were applied to the composite of the three years of NDVI images. Maximum likelihood classification was applied to the 2007 image （ETM＋2007） using a supervised classification process. Seven vegetation classes were defined from training data sets. The seven classes included the following biomes： riparian forest, dry forest, flooded vegetation, wooded savanna, fallows, parkland, and water. For these classes, the overall accuracy and the overall kappa statistic for the classi- fied map were 72.5% and 0.67, respectively. Data analyses indicated a great change in land resources; especially between 1987 and 2000 proba- bly due to the impact of democratization process social, economic, and political disorder from 1990. Wide-scale loss of vegetation occurred during this period. However, areas of vegetation clearing and regrowth were more visible between 2000 and 2007. The main source of confusion in the contingency matrix was due to heterogeneity within certain classes. It could also be due to spectral homogeneity among the classes. This research provides a baseline for future ecological landscape research and for the next management program in the area.     

北京市森林可燃物分类研究

利用北京市土地利用图和Landsat TM影像,采用监督分类方法对可燃物进行分类,获得可燃物分类图,并对各类可燃物的特征进行详细描述.结果表明:可燃物可分6类,即O- 1草地(中低盖度)、O- 2草地(高盖度)、S- 1灌丛、S- 2幼林、C- 1针叶林、M- 1针阔混交林和B- 1阔叶林.由于TM卫星影像分辨率的限制,很难分别出林分垂直结构的差异.这一分类结果,可以满足森林火险等级预报的需要,但对于火行为预报,还需要根据林分燃烧性、林分垂直结构及可燃物分布状态进一步分类.对当前的可燃物分类方法与制图途径以及未来的发展趋势进行讨论.     

Multi-source land cover classification for forest fire management based on imaging spectrometry and LiDAR data

Forest fire management practices are highly dependent on the proper monitoring of the spatial distribution of the natural and man-made fuel complexes at landscape level. Spatial patterns of fuel types as well as the three-dimensional structure and state of the vegetation are essential for the assessment and prediction of forest fire risk and fire behaviour. A combination of the two remote sensing systems, imaging spectrometry and light detection and ranging (LiDAR), is well suited to map fuel types and properties, especially within the complex wildland–urban interface. LiDAR observations sample the spatial information dimension providing explicit geometric information about the structure of the Earth's surface and super-imposed objects. Imaging spectrometry on the other hand samples the spectral dimension, which is sensitive for discrimination of surface types. As a non-parametric classifier support vector machines (SVM) are particularly well adapted to classify data of high dimensionality and from multiple sources as proposed in this work. The presented approach achieves an improved land cover mapping adapted to forest fire management needs. The map is based on a single SVM classifier combining the spectral and spatial information dimensions provided by imaging spectrometry and LiDAR.     

神农架地区珍稀植物沿河岸带的分布格局(英文)

在神农架香溪河流域内不同海拔高度沿河岸带共设置42个与河岸方向相同的10 m宽、100 m长样带进行植被调查,发现河岸带分布有珍稀保护植物14种,占神农架地区珍稀植物总数的42.4%,这些珍稀植物主要分布在1200～1800 m山地常绿阔叶林、落叶阔叶混交林带,表明在神农架地区植物群落的物种多样性在中等海拔高度上最大。TWINSPAN分类可把14种珍稀物种可划分为低海拔、中等海拔和较高海拔种组3组,DCA排序也使14种珍稀物种在反映海拔梯度的第一轴可以得到很好的展示。本文还对河岸带珍稀植物分布格局的成因进行了探讨,明确指出应重视河岸带在珍稀物种保护方面的重要作用。图3表1参9。     

Vegetation structure,composition and effect of pine plantation harvesting on riparian buffers in New Zealand

The composition and structure of vegetation within riparian buffers prior to, and immediately post-harvesting in a managed radiata pine (Pinus radiata D.Don) forest is described and compared with riparian buffers in residual adjoining native forest on the Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand. One hundred and twenty-one species (71% native) representing life forms from grasses to trees were recorded. The highest species richness, including both native and adventive (non-native) species, was found in riparian buffers in the post-harvest and native reference sites which had 18–25 species per site. Riparian buffers in mature pine plantations contained a mix of native species that was generally similar to, and not significantly reduced in species richness, from the reference native forest. Native species comprised 82–92% of the total cover in mature pre-harvest sites (irrespective of riparian width), and 99.8% in native reference sites. Compared with native forest the principal difference was a reduction of total cover in the upper tiers (5–12 m), and some increase in cover in the lower tiers. Adventive species in post-harvest sites comprised 16–67% of the total cover and were most frequently found in riparian areas highly disturbed by recent harvesting of the pines, particularly where riparian buffers were narrow or absent. Invasion by light-demanding adventives is expected to be temporary and most species are likely to be shaded out as the new rotation of pine trees develops. Radiata pine plantations in Whangapoua Forest can provide suitable conditions for the development of riparian buffer zones that will become dominated by native species, similar in richness and structure to neighbouring native forest.     

神农架地区珍衡植物沿河岸带的分布格局

Due to the importance of riparian zone in maintaining and protecting regional biodiversity, increasingly more ecologists paid their attentions to riparian zone and had been aware of the important effects of riparian zone in basic study and practical management. In this study, 42 sampling belts (10 m×100m) parallel to the bank of Xiangxi River at different elevations in Shennongjia Area were selected to investigate the riparian vegetation and rare plants. 14 species of rare plants were found distributing in riparian zone, accounting for 42.4% of the total rare plant species in Shennongjia Area. The main distribution range of the 14 rare plant species was the evergreen and deciduous mixed broadleaved forest at elevation of 1200–1800 m, where, species diversity of plant community was the maximum at the moderate elevation. The analysis of TWINSPAN divided the 14 rare species into 3 groups against the elevation, namely low elevation species group, moderate elevation species group, and high elevation species group. The analysis of DCA ordination showed similar results to that of TWINSPAN. In the paper, the authors discussed the reasons forming the distribution pattern of rare plant species, and pointed out that the important function of riparian zone on rare plant species protection. Foundation item: This project was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC39970123), and Changbai Mountain Open Research Station, Chinese Acadamy of Science. Biography: JIANG Ming-xi (1965-), male, associate professor in Wuhan Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, P. R. China Responsible editor: Chai Ruihai     

Estimation of shrub biomass by airborne LiDAR data in small forest stands

The presence of shrub vegetation is very significant in Mediterranean ecosystems. However, the difficulty involved in shrub management and the lack of information about behavior of this vegetation means that these areas are often left out of spatial planning projects. Airborne LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) has been used successfully in forestry to estimate dendrometric and dasometric variables that allow to characterize forest structure. In contrast, little research has focused on shrub vegetation. The objective of this study was to estimate dry biomass of shrub vegetation in 83 stands of radius 0.5 m using variables derived from LiDAR data. Dominant species was Quercus coccifera, one of the most characteristic species of the Mediterranean forests. Density of LiDAR data in the analyzed stands varied from 2 points/m² to 16 points/m², being the average 8 points/m² and the standard deviation 4.5 points/m². Under these conditions, predictions of biomass were performed calculating the mean height, the maximum height and the percentile values 80th, 90th, and 95th derived from LiDAR in concentric areas whose radius varied from 0.50 m to 3.5 m from the center of the stand. The maximum R² and the minimum RMSE for dry biomass estimations were obtained when the percentile 95th of LiDAR data was calculated in an area of radius 1.5 m, being 0.48 and 1.45 kg, respectively. For this radius, it was found that for the stands (n = 39) where the DTM is calculated with high accuracy (RMSE lower than 0.20 m) and with a high density of LiDAR data (more than 8 points/m²) the R² value was 0.73. These results show the possibility of estimating shrub biomass in small areas when the density of LiDAR data is high and errors associated to the DTM are low. These results would allow us to improve the knowledge about shrub behavior avoiding the cost of field measurements and clear cutting actions.     

Influence of forest riparian vegetation on abundance and biomass of nocturnal flying insects

Despite widespread recognition of linkages between vegetation and insects, understanding of the ecological mechanisms underlying these relationships is limited. Better comprehension of relationships linking abundance and biomass of insects to vegetation would increase accuracy of predictions of the effects of forest management activities on insect communities. This knowledge could also be pivotal to understanding predator–prey dynamics linked to insect populations. We sampled nocturnal flying insects and measured vegetation characteristics in 34 stream reaches in conifer-dominated forests of the Oregon Coast Range in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. We considered five a priori hypotheses (resource quality, resource diversity, resource abundance, resource concentration, and stream cover hypotheses) that could explain mechanisms underlying associations between riparian vegetation and nocturnal flying insects, and used an information-theoretic approach to determine the relative strength of evidence for each. The resource quality hypothesis, which predicts that abundance and biomass of insects increases with cover of deciduous vegetation, explained substantial variation for nearly every order of insect investigated, whereas the remaining hypotheses explained relatively little. Abundance and biomass of insects had stronger associations with characteristics of canopy trees than with characteristics of shrub or understory trees, suggesting that deciduous trees are an important habitat element for nocturnal flying insects in these areas. Resource managers planning riparian vegetation management in conifer-dominated forests should be aware that manipulation of the cover of deciduous trees in riparian areas could have a large impact on these insects and their vertebrate predators. By providing information on forest canopy composition, remote sensing may offer a low-cost tool for identifying areas with high abundance and biomass of insects during conservation planning.     

Impact of communal land use and conservation on woody vegetation structure in the Lowveld savannas of South Africa

Millions of people rely on savannas for ecosystem services, such as the provision of grazing and fuel wood, so it is important to determine the extent to which utilization affects woody vegetation resources. Using airborne LiDAR from the Carnegie Airborne Observatory (CAO), we quantified and compared tree canopy cover and height distributions between areas of contrasting management in the Lowveld savanna region of South Africa - a region connecting communal landscapes with heavy utilization (especially fuel wood harvesting) to fully protected public (Kruger National Park - KNP) and private reserves (SabiSand Game Reserve - SSGR) that conserve biodiversity. Differences in total woody vegetation cover and cover within functional height classes (1-2 m, 2-3 m, 3-5 m, 5-7 m and >7 m) were investigated between 7 sites located within (i) conservation areas (in KNP, SSGR), (ii) communal rangelands or (iii) cultivated fields in communal areas. The impact of human utilization on wood resources in the communal areas varied widely between sites. Heavy utilization on gabbro substrate greatly reduced total woody cover of the rangelands, while two other communal rangelands that were presumably less intensively utilised had double the total woody cover of conservation areas. Rangelands and fields in most of the communal sites had more vegetation cover in the 5-7 m and >7 m classes than most of the conservation sites, presumably due to the absence of elephants in communal rangelands and the active preservation of large fruiting trees. On granite substrates, which account for the majority of the study area, there was a 50% reduction in woody cover below 5 m in communal rangelands. Although large trees were clearly being conserved in communal rangelands and fields, there was a relatively low cover of vegetation below 5 m, which raise doubts about recruitment and long-term sustainability of the tree resources. These results in conjunction with other studies based on the CAO LiDAR data for experimental burn plots and large mammal exclosures in KNP, suggest that communal land use on granite substrates have a higher impact on the woody cover below 5 m than both elephants and fire.     

我国河岸带生态学的研究进展

我国河岸带植被生态学的研究目前主要集中在河岸带植物的群落格局、生物多样性、珍稀濒危分布以及荒漠河岸带植被与环境关系等方面,河岸带土壤和污染生态学研究主要集中在土壤反硝化过程、污染物的分布格局和苯胺降解机理等方面。针对国内河岸带研究现状及存在问题,建议未来我国河岸带的研究从6个方面进行：1）河岸带及其背景区植被景观空间镶嵌格局分析。2）河岸带边界的判定方法及河岸带植被特征沿横向空间梯度的变化格局。3）对河岸带生境类型的划分,在斑块、河段和支流3个尺度上对河岸带物种多样性格局进行分析,并阐明其控制因素和机制。4）河岸带对高地面源营养物、沉淀物和污染物的拦截过滤过程研究,建立量化传输模型。5）对典型流域河岸带向溪流输入有机质输入过程及数量进行研究,并建立周转过程模型。6）对河岸带的研究成果进行系统整合,建立能够揭示河岸带空间格局、组成结构与功能过程概念模型和数量模型。     

河岸带边界界定中的关键问题

针对河岸带研究、保护、恢复和管理中的河岸带边界的界定问题,从定义、尺度、方法和标准等方面进行了系统的总结。介绍了植被分析法、土壤分析法、景观分析法3种常用的界定方法。以地形特征为依据,详细论述了利用景观生态学分析法界定河岸带边界的步骤。这样有助于在流域或生态区尺度上准确把握河岸带边界问题。     

长白山典型林区主要河流两岸森林资源变化研究

本文对两期遥感图像进行解译，并在GIS支持下提取露水河林业局主要河流两岸各缓冲区森林资源信息，经分析得到各类地物在1985年及1999年的变化趋势。结果表明：在河流沿岸对森林的采伐强度1999年较1985年明显减小，整体生态环境较1985年有所改善。在缓冲区1，2，3除中龄针叶林大幅度增加外，其它地物类型面积均减少，由此可以看出，在这三个缓冲区内针叶林得到了较好的恢复。在缓冲区4内，中龄针叶林、成熟针叶林、成熟阔叶林形成一个林龄梯队，有利于森林生态系统的稳定与功能的发挥，十五年间缓冲区4受到的干扰相对较小。湿地数量在四个缓冲区内均有所减少，虽然在缓冲区4内森林生态系统恢复的较好，但湿地面积仍有所减少，说明保护及恢复湿地资源是一件非常艰巨的任务，必须引起高度重视。图5表2参12。     

Development of GIS-based models to predict plant community structure in relation to western juniper establishment

During the past 130 years, western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis Hook.) has rapidly expanded into sagebrush communities impacting plant structure and function. Predictions of intercanopy shrub density and cover with woodland development can provide insight into site condition and ecological resiliency in western juniper encroached areas. The purpose of this study is to model shrub density and cover in relation to juniper competition across a heterogeneous landscape in a southeast Oregon watershed. Independent variables included in model development were derived from high-resolution color imagery, a 10 m digital elevation model, and field-based vegetation and soil moisture measurements. Juniper cover and three intercanopy classes, representing different levels of juniper competition, were delineated from 1:5000 scale color (RGB) imagery. A competition index was produced from the classified image representing a gradient of potential competition with juniper. An integrated moisture index was generated representing variability in soil moisture due to hillslope solar radiation, curvature of the landscape and flow path direction and flow accumulation (flow path density). Plant density, plant cover, and percent soil moisture (gravimetric) were measured from 10 m × 10 m plots located throughout the watershed study area. Multiple stepwise regression produced the best-fit model for predicting plant density or cover for mountain big sagebrush (Artemesia tridentata ssp. vaseyana Beetle), bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata (Pursh)), and all shrub species combined. The prediction of total shrub density was significantly greater than expected by chance (p < 0.001), with a 0.865 coefficient of determination. Total shrub cover also had a high correlation between observed values and environmental gradients (R² = 0.773). These data can be used by land managers to assess the change in plant structure with increasing juniper canopy cover, a measure important for monitoring impacts from juniper woodland establishment.     

Influence of wildfire severity on riparian plant community heterogeneity in an Idaho,USA wilderness

Despite the increasing recognition of riparian zones as important ecotones that link terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and of fire as a critical natural disturbance, much remains unknown regarding the influence of fire on stream-riparian ecosystems. To further this understanding, we evaluated the effects of mixed severity wildfire on riparian plant community structure and composition in headwater streams of the Big Creek Watershed of the Frank Church ‘River of No Return’ Wilderness of central Idaho. Five years after a large stand-replacing fire, we conducted riparian vegetation surveys at sixteen reaches across a range of burn types. Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMS) and Multi-Response Permutation Procedure (MRPP) analyses showed an overall shift in community composition and structure between vegetation at unburned and severely burned reaches. Although total plant cover was significantly less at severely burned areas, recovery of the deciduous understory was apparent. Severely burned reaches were characterized by a marked increase in cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum). Reaches that were exposed to low-severity fire were indistinguishable from unburned reaches relative to vegetation community composition and structure, pointing to a possible disturbance threshold that may need to be crossed in order to alter riparian plant communities.     

Forest-floor temperatures and soil moisture across riparian zones on first- to third-order headwater streams in southern New England,USA

Riparian zones along forest streams in the western United States have been repeatedly shown to be floristically and climatically different from adjacent upland forest, and to be important contributors to forest biodiversity. Similar evidence for the presence or function of riparian zones is lacking for forests of the northeastern U.S. We conducted seasonal surveys of forest-floor temperature and soil moisture across 30-m riparian transects on first- to third-order streams in southern New England. We were unable to detect any effect of distance from the stream channel on either temperature or soil moisture. These preliminary results indicate the absence of a unique riparian forest-floor microclimate within 30 m of low-order streams in southern New England. While this study failed to identify a distinctive riparian microclimatic zone, protection of a riparian buffer during forestry operations or other disturbance is essential for the protection of forest streams and their resources and the maintenance of forest biodiversity.     

Estimating above-ground biomass by fusion of LiDAR and multispectral data in subtropical woody plant communities in topographically complex terrain in North-eastern Australia

We investigated a strategy to improve predicting capacity of plot-scale above-ground biomass （AGB） by fusion of LiDAR and Land- sat5 TM derived biophysical variables for subtropical rainforest and eucalypts dominated forest in topographically complex landscapes in North-eastern Australia. Investigation was carried out in two study areas separately and in combination. From each plot of both study areas, LiDAR derived structural parameters of vegetation and reflectance of all Landsat bands, vegetation indices were employed. The regression analysis was carded out separately for LiDAR and Landsat derived variables indi- vidually and in combination. Strong relationships were found with LiDAR alone for eucalypts dominated forest and combined sites compared to the accuracy of AGB estimates by Landsat data. Fusing LiDAR with Landsat5 TM derived variables increased overall performance for the eucalypt forest and combined sites data by describing extra variation （3% for eucalypt forest and 2% combined sites） of field estimated plot-scale above-ground biomass. In contrast, separate LiDAR and imagery data, andfusion of LiDAR and Landsat data performed poorly across structurally complex closed canopy subtropical minforest. These findings reinforced that obtaining accurate estimates of above ground biomass using remotely sensed data is a function of the complexity of horizontal and vertical structural diversity of vegetation.     

Forest resources variation along with the main rivers in typical forest region of Changbai Mountain

The restoration of the riparian vegetation disturbed by human activities is one of the hotspots of watershed ecology. Through interpreting the images of Remote Sensing in 1985 and 1999, the basic information of forest resources of Lushuhe Forest Bureau, which is a typical forest area of Chanbai Mountain was obtained with support of GIS. By dividing Land covers of Lushuihe area into 10 types (water body, residential land, stump land, farming land, wetland, mature conifer forest, midlife conifer forest, mature broadleaf forest, midlife broadleaf forest, and man-made young forest) and dividing the riparian zone into four buffers (in turn 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 m away from the river), the changes of riparian forest resources during 1985–1999 were analyzed. The results showed that the deforestation intension has obviously decreased and the whole environment has been evidently improved, but the riparian ecosystem was still flimsy. In buffer 1, 2, 3 the area of midlife conifer forest increased largely, but the areas of other types of land covers all decreased. Midlife conifer forest had a comparatively good status in the three buffers. In buffer 4, midlife conifer forest, mature conifer forest, and mature broadleaf forest formed a forest-age rank that is helpful to stabilize the forest ecosystem and exert its functions. Area percentage of wetland decreased in buffer 1, buffer 2, and buffer 3, even in buffer 4 in which forest ecosystem rehabilitated comparatively well, so protecting and rehabilitating wetland is a very difficult task. Foundation item: This study is supported by major projects of Knowiedge Innovation Program. Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KZCX2-SW-320-3) and Institute of Applied Ecology (a grant SCXZD010-01), CAS. Biography: HAO Zhan-qing (1962-), Male, Ph. Doctor, Professor in Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Science, Shenyang 1100016, P.R. China Responsible editor: Chai Ruihai     

Stand and landscape-level factors related to bird assemblages in exotic pine plantations: Implications for forest management

Plantations cover a substantial amount of Earth's terrestrial surface and this area is expected to increase dramatically in the coming decades. Pinus plantations make up approximately 32% of the global plantation estate. They are primarily managed for wood production, but have some capacity to support native fauna. This capacity likely varies with plantation management. We examined changes in the richness and frequency of occurrence of bird species at 32 plots within a Pinus radiata plantation (a management unit comprising multiple Pinus stands) in south-eastern Australia. Plots were stratified by distance to native forest, stand age class and thinning regime. We also assessed the landscape context of each plot to determine relationships between bird assemblages and stand and landscape-level factors. Bird species richness was significantly higher at plots ≥300 m from native forest and in mature (∼20 years since planting) and old (∼27 years since planting) thinned pine stands. We were able to separate the often confounding effects of stand age and thinning regime by including old stands that had never been thinned. These stands had significantly fewer species than thinned stands suggesting thinning regime, not age is a key factor to improving the capacity of pine plantations to support native species (although an age × thinning interaction may influence this result). At the landscape level, species richness increased in pine stands when they were closer to native riparian vegetation. There were no significant differences in species composition across plots. Our study indicates the importance of stand thinning and retention of native riparian vegetation in improving the value of pine plantations for the conservation of native fauna.