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Canopy Architectural Models in Support of Methods Using Hemispherical Photography

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Hemispherical Photography in Forest Science: Theory, Methods, Applications

Part of the book series: Managing Forest Ecosystems ((MAFE,volume 28))

Abstract

One of the most important limitations regarding the in situ measurement of forest canopies is the relative lack of knowledge of canopy structure. Yet the three-dimensional (3D) arrangement of canopy components is difficult to measure because of the significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity of canopy structure over a wide range of scales. In this context, models of plant and tree canopies represent our current simplified understanding of canopy structure, and provide a tool to analyze and interpret direct as well as indirect measurements. This chapter first reviews some of the architectural modeling approaches for simulating forest canopies and the extent to which they can account for the spatial variability present in hemispherical photographs (HPs). Then, a novel architectural model is described that is capable of explicitly representing conifer tree structure up to the level of individual branches, and which is called VoxTreK (Voxel Tree with 3D Kites). Its ability to simulate HP is assessed through a comparative analysis with three other canopy architecture models of increasing complexity: from a simple turbid medium to detailed representation of individual shoots. Our comparative analysis of the four models consisted of simulations of forest canopy structure, reconstructions of several coniferous stands, and computer-generated simulations of actual HPs that were taken in forest stands. Results demonstrate that the VoxTreK model is capable of reproducing the zenith gap fraction distributions of conifer forest canopies with high correlations (r ≥ 0.92) between the simulated and in situ HPs. They also suggest that VoxTreK can describe the canopy structure with greater detail than crown envelope, with accuracy comparable to a model including individual coniferous shoots for HP applications. Last, recent trends in architectural modeling are reviewed, thereby providing a summary of the state of the art in modeling canopy structure as well as outlining current applications and future developments.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Parallel rewriting systems that consist of a set of modules, each representing plant components, a collection of production rules which expand each module at every step of the simulation into some larger string of modules, an initial state from which the simulation begins, and a mechanism for translating the modules that are generated into geometric structures.

  2. 2.

    http://www.rem.sfu.ca/forestry/publications/downloads/gaplightanalyzer.htm.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the ECOLEAP group of the Canadian Forest Service (Natural Resources Canada), the BOREAS project, and the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) at Pierroton for providing access to critical datasets that were used in this study. The work of Jean-François Côté was made possible by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) research grant awarded to Richard A. Fournier.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Canadian Wood Fibre Centre, 1055 Du P.E.P.S. Street, P.O. Box 10380, Québec, Québec, G1V 4C7, Canada

    Jean-François Côté

  2. Centre d’applications et de Recherches en Télédétection (CARTEL), Département de Géomatique Appliquée, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, J1K 2R1, Canada

    Richard A. Fournier

  3. Global Change and Sustainability Research Institute, The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Michel M. Verstraete

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  1. Jean-François Côté
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Correspondence to Jean-François Côté .

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  1. Centre d’Applications et de Recherches en Télédétection (CARTEL), Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada

    Richard A. Fournier

  2. Canadian Forest Services, Natural Resources Canada, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Ronald J. Hall

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Côté, JF., Fournier, R.A., Verstraete, M.M. (2017). Canopy Architectural Models in Support of Methods Using Hemispherical Photography. In: Fournier, R., Hall, R. (eds) Hemispherical Photography in Forest Science: Theory, Methods, Applications. Managing Forest Ecosystems, vol 28. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1098-3_9

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