StrucNet : a global network for automated vegetation structure monitoring

Kim Calders, Benjamin Brede, Glenn Newnham, Darius Culvenor, John Armston, Harm Bartholomeus, Anne Griebel, Jodie Hayward, Samuli Junttila, Alvaro Lau, Shaun Levick, Rosalinda Morrone, Niall Origo, Marion Pfeifer, Jan Verbesselt, Martin Herold

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Climate change and increasing human activities are impacting ecosystems and their biodiversity. Quantitative measurements of essential biodiversity variables (EBV) and essential climate variables are used to monitor biodiversity and carbon dynamics and evaluate policy and management interventions. Ecosystem structure is at the core of EBVs and carbon stock estimation and can help to inform assessments of species and species diversity. Ecosystem structure is also used as an indirect indicator of habitat quality and expected species richness or species community composition. Spaceborne measurements can provide large-scale insight into monitoring the structural dynamics of ecosystems, but they generally lack consistent, robust, timely and detailed information regarding their full three-dimensional vegetation structure at local scales. Here we demonstrate the potential of high-frequency ground-based laser scanning to systematically monitor structural changes in vegetation. We present a proof-of-concept high-temporal ecosystem structure time series of 5 years in a temperate forest using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS). We also present data from automated high-temporal laser scanning that can allow upscaling of vegetation structure scanning, overcoming the limitations of a typically opportunistic TLS measurement approach. Automated monitoring will be a critical component to build a network of field monitoring sites that can provide the required calibration data for satellite missions to effectively monitor the structural dynamics of vegetation over large areas. Within this perspective, we reflect on how this network could be designed and discuss implementation pathways.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)587-598
Number of pages12
JournalRemote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation
Volume9
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2023

Open Access - Access Right Statement

© 2023 The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use,,distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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