Changes in Forest Structural Heterogeneity Pre- and Post-Disturbance in Northern California Forests

Presenter: Logan Southall

Co-Presenter(s):
Zane Cooper

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 22-23

Semester: Spring

Faculty Mentor: Lisa Bentley

Department: Biology

President's Strategic Plan Goal: Sustainability and Environmental Inquiry

Abstract:
Using remote sensing approaches, such as terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), to understand forest structure before and after disturbance can provide critical insight related to management, fire prediction and wildlife assessment. However, while TLS accurately captures spatially explicit stand measurements, TLS data have not yet been used to estimate 3D forest texture metrics that describe heterogeneity (i.e., lacunarity). Here, we quantified change following disturbance by examining hand-measured changes in stand density and composition. We also used TLS to estimate lacunarity before and after disturbances. Data were collected at plots (400 m2) at two sites in northern California forests before and after timber harvest (n=22) and natural wildfire (n=22). Here we discuss if TLS-derived lacunarity is an important forest structure parameter that can be used to quantify changes following disturbance and predict how forest stands may respond to wildfire.