Background and goals
As remotely-sensed data on vegetation structure and composition become available, ecologists are using these data to understand patterns of wildlife distribution and abundance. As a collaborative effort, Joshua Viers (UC Davis, ICE), Julian Wood (PRBO) and I are investigating the application of LiDAR-derived measurements of vegetation canopy height to build habitat suitability models for riparian birds at the Cosumnes River Preserve in central California, USA. These results illustrate the utility of using LiDAR-derived measurements of vegetation structure to understand habitat relationships of riparian birds, and underscore the importance of using multiscale approaches to modeling wildlife habitat suitability.
Some preliminary results
Power point presentation of preliminary results [coming soon]
Write-up of project by California Sea Grant [Website]
Relevant Literature
Vierling, K. T., L. A. Vierling, S. Martinuzzi, W. Gould, and R. Clawges. 2008. Lidar: Shedding new light on habitat modeling. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 6:90-98.
Hinsley, S. A., R. A. Hill, P. E. Bellamy, and H. Balzter. 2006. The application of lidar in woodland bird ecology: Climate, canopy structure, and habitat quality. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 72:1399-1406.
Clawges, R., K. Vierling, L. Vierling, and E. Rowell. 2008. The use of airborne lidar to assess avian species diversity, density, and occurrence in a pine /aspen forest. Remote Sensing of Environment 112:2064-2073.
Other information
About Radiohead's LiDAR generated music video [Website]