Research

Digital twinning in forestry

Testing Forestry Digital Twinning Workflow Based on Mobile LiDAR Scanner and AI PlatformClimate-smart forestry is a sustainable forest management approach for increasing positive climate impacts on society. As climate-smart forestry is focusing on more sustainable solutions that are resource-efficient and circular, digitalization plays an important role in its implementation. The article aimed to validate an automatic workflow of processing 3D pointclouds to produce digital twins for every tree on large 1-ha sample plots using a GeoSLAM mobile LiDAR scanner and VirtSilv AI platform. Specific objectives were to test the efficiency of segmentation technique developed in the platform for individual trees from an initial cloud of 3D points observed in the field and to quantify the efficiency of digital twinning by comparing the automatically generated results of (DBH, H, and Volume) with traditional measurements. A number of 1399 trees were scanned with LiDAR to create digital twins and, for validation, were measured with traditional tools such as forest tape and vertex. The segmentation algorithm developed in the platform to extract individual 3D trees recorded an accuracy varying between 95 and 98%. This result was higher in accuracy than reported by other solutions. When compared to traditional measurements the bias for diameter at breast height (DBH) and height was not significant. Digital twinning offers a blockchain solution for digitalization, and AI platforms are able to provide technological advantage in preserving and restoring biodiversity with sustainable forest management.

SPYING on old forests

Using historical spy satellite photographs and recent remote sensing data to identify high‐conservation‐value forestsArticle impact statement: Romania has over 700,000 ha of high-conservation-value forests, but as much as half of them are under high anthropogenic pressure.

LiDAR SCANNING IN OAK FORESTS

Tree Shape Variability in a Mixed Oak Forest Using Terrestrial Laser Technology: Implications for Mating System AnalysisThe accuracy of the description regarding tree architecture is crucial for data processing. LiDAR technology is an efficient solution for capturing the characteristics of individual trees. The aim of the present study was to analyze tree shape variability in a mixed oak forest consisting of four European white oak species: Quercus petraea, Q. frainetto, Q. pubescens, and Q. robur. Moreover, we tested for association between tree shape and individual heterozygosity and whether oak trees identified as pollen donors in a previous genetic study have a larger size in terms of crown and trunk characteristics than non-donors. The woody structure of a tree was defined by the quantitative structure model (QSM) providing information about topology (branching structure), geometry, and volume. For extracting the 3D point clouds a high-speed 3D scanner (FARO FocusS 70) was used. The crown variables were strongly correlated to each other, the branch volume being influenced by branch length, maximum branch order, and the number of branches but not influenced by diameter at breast height (DBH), trunk length, trunk volume, or tree height. There was no relationship between the individual heterozygosity based on nuclear microsatellite genetic markers and crown and trunk characteristics, respectively. Branch volume, total area, DBH, trunk volume, and the total volume of tree were significantly larger in pollen donors compared to non-donor Q. petraea trees. Thus, the mean branch volume was more than three times higher. Pollen donors had nearly two and half times larger total area in comparison to non-donor individuals. Our results suggest that a thorough characterization of tree phenotype using terrestrial laser scanning may contribute to a better understanding of mating system patterns in oak forests.

Carbon pools in romania

Economic Valuation of Carbon Storage and Sequestration in Retezat National Park, RomaniaCarbon storage and sequestration is one of the most important services provided by forest ecosystems, the most powerful tools for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Its value is not always captured and appreciated at a fair level, with people taking for granted these benefits provided by the ecosystems. Our first objective was to evaluate the amount of carbon storage and sequestration within a specific area—Retezat National Park (RNP), Romania, in a specific timeframe, using mainly the data from forest management plans. The second objective was to estimate the economic value of the carbon sequestered by the ecosystems within the national park. Based on the carbon market price, we calculated the monetary value of the sequestered carbon. The third objective was to cross-validate the model using mobile terrestrial LiDAR scanner 3D mapping technology in several field plots. Our results reveal comparable stocks of carbon with the ones modelled based on the forest management plans, enabling us to use these plans as an accurate source of information. The present study underlines that the financial effort for the management of the ecosystems which provide these services can be sustained by implementing financial mechanisms aiming to direct ecosystem services values into the management of these ecosystems.

Forest changes in latvia vs Russia

Half a century of forest cover change along the Latvian-Russian border captured by object-based image analysis of Corona and Landsat TM/OLI dataAfter 1991, major events, such as the collapse of socialism and the transition to market economies, caused land use change across the former USSR and …

marmots in kazakhstan

Cold War spy satellite images reveal long-term declines of a philopatric keystone species in response to cropland expansion

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2019.2897

Agricultural expansion drives biodiversity loss globally, but impact assessments are biased towards recent time periods. This can lead to a gross underestimation of species declines in response to habitat loss, especially when species declines are gradual and occur over long time periods. Using Cold War spy satellite images (Corona), we show that a grassland keystone species, the bobak marmot (Marmota bobak), continues to respond to agricultural expansion that happened more than 50 years ago. Although burrow densities of the bobak marmot today are highest in croplands, densities declined most strongly in areas that were persistently used as croplands since the 1960s. This response to historical agricultural conversion spans roughly eight marmot generations and suggests the longest recorded response of a mammal species to agricultural expansion. We also found evidence for remarkable philopatry: nearly half of all burrows retained their exact location since the 1960s, and this was most pronounced in grasslands...

Forest dynamics

Forests dynamics in the montanealpine boundary: a comparative study using satellite imagery and climate data

Over the past decades, the altitudinal and latitudinal advance of forest lines has increased due to global warming and the abandonment of less productive areas previously subject to agricultural activities. The intensity and speed of the forest line advance also depend on numerous physical, biological and human factors that are region-specific. It is important to fully understand the mechanisms behind forest line behaviour, as existing studies do not report global figures. We selected 4 study areas in which to analyse the temporal and spatial behaviour of the forest line and of forest cover based on selection criteria such as minimal human interference and maximal representativeness at the European level. The sites were located in national parks that were evenly spread across some of the dominant European mountain ranges such as the Pyrenees, Alps and Carpathians, at comparable altitudes and latitudes, and with similar land cover proportions in the year 1970. Methodologically, we used cloud-free Landsat satellite images that were acquired in the same month during the growing season.

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