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Scientists use lasers to measure changes to tropical forests
January 26, 2009New technology deployed on airplanes is helping scientists quantify landscape-scale changes occurring to Big Island tropical forests from non-native plants and other environmental factors that affect carbon sequestration.
U.S. Forest Service and Carnegie Institution scientists involved in the research published their findings this month in the journal Ecosystems and hope it will help other researchers racing to assess threats to tropical forests around the world.
"Our results clearly show the interactive role that climate and invasive species play on carbon stocks in tropical forests, and this may prove useful in projecting future changes in carbon sequestration in Hawaii and beyond," said Gregory Asner, with the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology.
Airborne technology might be the best way to quickly examine rugged ecosystems covered with dense vegetation that make them difficult to study on the ground or with satellites, according to the scientists.
"These findings showed airborne data correlated with data derived from study plots on the ground," said Flint Hughes, a Forest Service ecologist at the agency's Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry and one of the study's authors. "They also demonstrated what might be the most important environmental factors affecting forest biomass and carbon sequestration."
Hughes and his colleagues compared field measurements with data derived from the Carnegie Airborne Observatory (http://cao.stanford.edu/), a system that uses a combination of lasers capable of measuring elevation to within six inches, GPS and advanced imaging spectrometers that can identify plant species from aircraft.
The scientists placed the equipment on an airplane that flew over the northeast flank of the Mauna Kea Volcano and the Hawaii Experimental Tropical Forest, which the National Science Foundation has designated a National Ecological Observatory Network candidate site.
They then compared the information to field observations that included tree diameter, canopy height and wood density estimates. Their findings not only demonstrated the effectiveness of airborne observations, but also offered a landscape-scale view of how alien invasive plants like strawberry guava might affect biomass levels in the context of carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation.
Study results suggest fast-growing invaders decrease biomass levels, while slower-growing species increase biomass stocks.
US Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station
Airborne technology might be the best way to quickly examine rugged ecosystems covered with dense vegetation that make them difficult to study on the ground or with satellites, according to the scientists.
"These findings showed airborne data correlated with data derived from study plots on the ground," said Flint Hughes, a Forest Service ecologist at the agency's Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry and one of the study's authors. "They also demonstrated what might be the most important environmental factors affecting forest biomass and carbon sequestration."
Hughes and his colleagues compared field measurements with data derived from the Carnegie Airborne Observatory (http://cao.stanford.edu/), a system that uses a combination of lasers capable of measuring elevation to within six inches, GPS and advanced imaging spectrometers that can identify plant species from aircraft.
The scientists placed the equipment on an airplane that flew over the northeast flank of the Mauna Kea Volcano and the Hawaii Experimental Tropical Forest, which the National Science Foundation has designated a National Ecological Observatory Network candidate site.
They then compared the information to field observations that included tree diameter, canopy height and wood density estimates. Their findings not only demonstrated the effectiveness of airborne observations, but also offered a landscape-scale view of how alien invasive plants like strawberry guava might affect biomass levels in the context of carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation.
Study results suggest fast-growing invaders decrease biomass levels, while slower-growing species increase biomass stocks.
US Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station
Carbon Sequestration Current Events and Carbon Sequestration News RSSWorld will miss 2010 target to stem biodiversity loss, experts say
The world will miss its agreed target to stem biodiversity loss by next year, according to experts convening in Cape Town for a landmark conference devoted to biodiversity science.
First global scientific conference supporting UN efforts to curb desertification opens in Argentina
As climate change negotiators continue to skirt the role of agricultural land use in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, top scientists working on land management in the world's vast dry areas will gather this week in Buenos Aires, Argentina, determined to make the case that thwarting desertification in drylands is viable and also critical to the success of a new climate deal.
Exotic timber plantations found to use more than twice the water of native forests
Ecologists have discovered that timber plantations in Hawaii use more than twice the amount of water to grow as native forests use.
New genomic model defines microbes by diet -- provides tool for tracking environmental change
In line with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) interest in characterizing the biotic factors involved in global carbon cycling, the DOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI) characterizes a diverse array of plants, microorganisms, and the communities in which they reside to inform options for reducing and stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gases.
Scientists say climate change mitigation strategies ignore carbon cycling processes of inland waters
In the paper, The Boundless Carbon Cycle, published in the September issue of Nature Geoscience, scientists from the University of Vienna, Uppsala University in Sweden, University of Antwerp, and the U.S. based Stroud™ Water Research Center argue that current international strategies to mitigate manmade carbon emissions and address climate change have overlooked a critical player - inland waters.
Researchers link jellyfish, other small sea creatures to large-scale ocean mixing
The ocean's smallest swimming animals, such as jellyfish, can have a huge impact on large-scale ocean mixing, researchers have discovered.
Forest fire prevention efforts will lessen carbon sequestration, add to greenhouse warming
Widely sought efforts to reduce fuels that increase catastrophic fire in Pacific Northwest forests will be counterproductive to another important societal goal of sequestering carbon to help offset global warming.
Scientists track chemical changes in cells as they endure extreme conditions
One of nature's most gripping feats of survival is now better understood. For the first time, scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory observed the chemical changes in individual cells that enable them to survive conditions that should kill them.
Pacific Northwest forests could store more carbon, help address greenhouse issues
The forests of the Pacific Northwest hold significant potential to increase carbon storage and help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in coming years, a recent study concludes, if they are managed primarily for that purpose through timber harvest reductions and increased rotation ages.
A new approach to engineering for extreme environments
Composite materials such as fiberglass, which take on a mix of properties of their constituent compounds, have been around for decades. Now, an MIT materials scientist is taking composites to the nanoscale, where entirely new properties, not found in any of the original compounds, can emerge.
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60 Minutes - Powered by Coal (April 26, 2009) Airdate 4/26/09 Coal is America's cheapest and most abundant fossil fuel, and it generates nearly half the electricity on earth. But coal is also one of the most polluting sources of energy, and its carbon dioxide emissions are contributing to global warming. Is clean coal possible? If so, can coal emission be eliminated before it's too late to undo the damage to the planet? Scott Pelley reports. This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply. |
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Coal & Nuclear: Problem or Solution? Also With: PBS (Producer) |
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