Can airborne laser scanning (ALS) and forest estimates derived from satellite images be used to predict abundance and species richness of birds and beetles in boreal forest?

Remote Sensing

Volumn 7, Issue 4, 2015, Pages 4233-4252

  Lindberg, Eva ^a,b   Roberge, Jean Michel ^b   Johansson, Therese ^b   Hjältén, Joakim ^b  

^a VIENNA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY   (Austria)

^b SWEDISH UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES   (Sweden)

Author keywords

ALS; Beetles; Biodiversity hot spot; Birds; Boreal forest; Epigaeic beetles; kNN; LiDAR

Indexed keywords

BIODIVERSITY; BIRDS; CONSERVATION; LASER APPLICATIONS; LIVING SYSTEMS STUDIES; OPTICAL RADAR; REGRESSION ANALYSIS; REMOTE SENSING; SATELLITES; SURFACE ANALYSIS; VEGETATION;

ALS; BEETLES; BOREAL FORESTS; EPIGAEIC BEETLES; HOT SPOT; KNN;

FORESTRY;

BIODIVERSITY; FORESTS; INSECTS; PLANTS; REGRESSION ANALYSIS; SCANNING;

EID: 84933506845     PISSN: None     EISSN: 20724292     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.3390/rs70404233     Document Type: Article

References (87)

1. Harrison, S.; Bruna, E. Habitat fragmentation and large-scale conservation: What do we know for sure? Ecography 1999, 22, 225-232.
2. Pimm, S.L.; Jenkins, C.N.; Abell, R.; Brooks, T.M.; Gittleman, J.L.; Joppa, L.N.; Raven, P.H.; Roberts, C.M.; Sexton, J.O. The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution, and protection. Science 2014, 344, doi: 10.1126/science.1246752.
3. Esseen, P.-A.; Ehnström, B.; Ericson, L.; Sjöberg, K. Boreal forests. In Ecological Bulletins, Boreal Ecosystems and Landscapes: Structures, Processes and Conservation of Biodiversity; Hansson, L., Ed.; Oikos Editorial Office: Lund, Sweden, 1997; Volume 46, pp. 16-47.
4. Linder, P.; östlund, L. Structural changes in three mid-boreal Swedish forest landscapes, 1885-1996. Biol. Conserv. 1998, 85, 9-19.
5. Siitonen, J. Forest management, coarse woody debris and saproxylic organisms: Fennoscandian boreal forest as an example. Ecol. Bull. 2001, 49, 11-41.
6. Gibb, H.; Ball, J.P.; Johansson, T.; Atlegrim, O.; Hjältén, J.; Danell, K. Effects of management on coarse woody debris volume and composition in boreal forests in northern Sweden. Scand. J. For. Res. 2005, 20, 213-222.
7. Grove, S.J. Saproxylic insect ecology and the sustainable management of forests. In Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics; Futuyma, D.J., Ed.; Annual Reviews: Palo Alto, CA, USA, 2002; Volume 33, pp. 1-23.
8. Harmon, M.E.; Franklin, J.F.; Swanson, F.J.; Sollins, P.; Gregory, S.V.; Lattin, J.D.; Anderson, N.H.; Cline, S.P.; Aumen, N.G.; Sedell, J.R.; et al. Ecology of coarse woody debris in temperate ecosystems. Adv. Ecol. Res. 1986, 15, 133-302.
9. Niklasson, M.; Granström, A. Numbers and sizes of fires: Long-term spatially explicit fire history in a Swedish boreal landscape. Ecology 2000, 81, 1484-1499.
10. Larsson, S.; Danell, K. Science and the management of boreal forest biodiversity-Preface. Scand. J. For. Res. 2001, 16, 5-9.
11. Angelstam, P.; Roberge, J.M.; Ek, T.; Laestadius, L. Data and tools for conservation, management, and restoration of northern forest ecosystems at multiple scales. In Restoration of Boreal and Temperate Forests; Stanturf, J., Madsen, P., Eds.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, USA, 2005; Volume 3, pp. 269-283.
12. Lindenmayer, D.B.; Franklin, J.F.; Fischer, J. General management principles and a checklist of strategies to guide forest biodiversity conservation. Biol. Conserv. 2006, 131, 433-445.
13. Johansson, T.; Hjältén, J.; de Jong, J.; von Stedingk, H. Environmental considerations from legislation and certification in managed forest stands: A review of their importance for biodiversity. For. Ecol. Manag. 2013, 303, 98-112.
14. Gibb, H.; Hjältén, J.; Ball, J.P.; Atlegrim, O.; Pettersson, R.B.; Hilszczanski, J.; Johansson, T.; Danell, K. Effects of landscape composition and substrate availability on saproxylic beetles in boreal forests: A study using experimental logs for monitoring assemblages. Ecography 2006, 29, 191-204.
15. Paillet, Y.; Berges, L.; Hjältén, J.; Odor, P.; Avon, C.; Bernhardt-Roemermann, M.; Bijlsma, R.-J.; de Bruyn, L.; Fuhr, M.; Grandin, U.; et al. Biodiversity differences between managed and unmanaged forests: Meta-analysis of species richness in Europe. Conserv. Biol. 2010, 24, 101-112.
16. Stighäll, K.; Roberge, J.-M.; Andersson, K.; Angelstam, P., Usefulness of biophysical proxy data for modelling habitat of an endangered forest species: The white-backed woodpecker dendrocopos leucotos. Scand. J. For. Res. 2011, 26, 576-585.
17. Reese, H.; Nilsson, M.; Pahen, T.G.; Hagner, O.; Joyce, S.; Tingelof, U.; Egberth, M.; Olsson, H. Countrywide estimates of forest variables using satellite data and field data from the national forest inventory. Ambio 2003, 32, 542-548.
18. Martinuzzi, S.; Vierling, L.A.; Gould, W.A.; Vierling, K.T. Improving the characterization and mapping of wildlife habitats with lidar data: Measurement priorities for the inland northwest, USA. Gap Anal. Bull. 2009, 16, 1-8.
19. Davies, A.B.; Asner, G.P., Advances in animal ecology from 3D-LiDAR ecosystem mapping. Trends Ecol. Evolut. 2014, 29, 681-691.
20. Shan, J.; Toth, C. Topographic Laser Ranging and Scanning: Principles and Processing; CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group: Boca Raton, FL, USA, 2009.
21. Wulder, M.A.; White, J.C.; Nelson, R.F.; Næsset, E.; Orka, H.O.; Coops, N.C.; Hilker, T.; Bater, C.W.; Gobakken, T. LiDAR sampling for large-area forest characterization: A review. Remote Sens. Environ. 2012, 121, 196-209.
22. Ussyshkin, V.; Theriault, L. Airborne LiDAR: Advances in discrete return technology for 3D vegetation mapping. Remote Sens. 2011, 3, 416-434.
23. Kraus, K.; Pfeifer, N., Determination of terrain models in wooded areas with airborne laser scanner data. ISPRS J. Photogram. Remote Sens. 1998, 53, 193-203.
24. Martinuzzi, S.; Vierling, L.A.; Gould, W.A.; Falkowski, M.J.; Evans, J.S.; Hudak, A.T.; Vierling, K.T. Mapping snags and understory shrubs for a LiDAR-based assessment of wildlife habitat suitability. Remote Sens. Environ. 2009, 113, 2533-2546.
25. Hyyppä, J.; Hyyppä, H.; Leckie, D.; Gougeon, F.; Yu, X.; Maltamo, M. Review of methods of small-footprint airborne laser scanning for extracting forest inventory data in boreal forests. Int. J. Remote Sens. 2008, 29, 1339-1366.
26. Hudak, A.T.; Evans, J.S.; Smith, A.M.S., LiDAR utility for natural resource managers. Remote Sens. 2009, 1, 934-951.
27. Stilla, U.; Jutzi, B. Waveform Analysis for Small-Footprint Pulsed Laser Systems. In Topographic Laser Ranging and Scanning: Principles and Processing; Shan, J., Toth, C., Eds.; CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group: Boca Raton, FL, USA, 2009.
28. Reitberger, J.; Schnorr, C.; Krzystek, P.; Stilla, U. 3D segmentation of single trees exploiting full waveform lidar data. ISPRS J. Photogram. Remote Sens. 2009, 64, 561-574.
29. Lindberg, E.; Eysn, L.; Hollaus, M.; Holmgren, J.; Pfeifer, N. Delineation of tree crowns and tree species classification from full-waveform airborne laser scanning data using 3-D ellipsoidal clustering. IEEE J. Sel. Top. Appl. Earth Observ. Remote Sens. 2014, 7, 3174-3181.
30. Polewski, P.; Yao, W.; Heurich, M.; Krzystek, P.; Stilla, U. Detection of Fallen Trees in als Point Clouds by Learning the Normalized Cut Similarity Function from Simulated Samples. ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci. 2014, II-3, 111-118.
31. Whitehurst, A.S.; Swatantran, A.; Blair, J.B.; Hofton, M.A.; Dubayah, R. Characterization of canopy layering in forested ecosystems using full waveform LiDAR. Remote Sens. 2013, 5, 2014-2036.
32. Camprodon, J.; Brotons, L. Effects of undergrowth clearing on the bird communities of the northwestern mediterranean coppice holm oak forests. For. Ecol. Manag. 2006, 221, 72-82.
33. Eggers, S.; Low, M. Differential demographic responses of sympatric parids to vegetation management in boreal forest. For. Ecol. Manag. 2014, 319, 169-175.
34. Stenbacka, F.; Hjältén, J.; Hilszczanski, J.; Dynesius, M. Saproxylic and non-saproxylic beetle assemblages in boreal spruce forests of different age and forestry intensity. Ecol. Appl. 2010, 20, 2310-2321.
35. Niemelä, J.; Haila, Y.; Punttila, P. The importance of small-scale heterogeneity in boreal forests: Variation in diversity in forest-floor invertebrates across the succession gradient. Ecography 1996, 19, 352-368.
36. Seavy, N.E.; Viers, J.H.; Wood, J.K. Riparian bird response to vegetation structure: A multiscale analysis using LiDAR measurements of canopy height. Ecol. Appl. 2009, 19, 1848-1857.
37. Zellweger, F.; Braunisch, V.; Baltensweiler, A.; Bollmann, K. Remotely sensed forest structural complexity predicts multi species occurrence at the landscape scale. For. Ecol. Manag. 2013, 307, 303-312.
38. Coops, N.C.; Waring, R.H.; Wulder, M.A.; Pidgeon, A.M.; Radeloff, V.C. Bird diversity: A predictable function of satellite-derived estimates of seasonal variation in canopy light absorbance across the United States. J. Biogeogr. 2009, 36, 905-918.
39. Coops, N.C.; Wulder, M.A.; Iwanicka, D. Exploring the relative importance of satellite-derived descriptors of production, topography and land cover for predicting breeding bird species richness over Ontario, Canada. Remote Sens. Environ. 2009, 113, 668-679.
40. Goetz, S.J.; Sun, M.; Zolkos, S.; Hansen, A.; Dubayah, R. The relative importance of climate and vegetation properties on patterns of north American breeding bird species richness. Environ. Res. Lett. 2014, 9, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/9/3/034013.
41. Sheeren, D.; Bonthoux, S.; Balent, G., Modeling bird communities using unclassified remote sensing imagery: Effects of the spatial resolution and data period. Ecol. Indic. 2014, 43, 69-82.
42. Shirley, S.M.; Yang, Z.; Hutchinson, R.A.; Alexander, J.D.; McGarigal, K.; Betts, M.G. Species distribution modelling for the people: Unclassified landsat tm imagery predicts bird occurrence at fine resolutions. Divers. Distrib. 2013, 19, 855-866.
43. Culbert, P.D.; Radeloff, V.C.; St-Louis, V.; Flather, C.H.; Rittenhouse, C.D.; Albright, T.P.; Pidgeon, A.M. Modeling broad-scale patterns of avian species richness across the midwestern United States with measures of satellite image texture. Remote Sens. Environ. 2012, 118, 140-150.
44. St-Louis, V.; Pidgeon, A.M.; Kuemmerle, T.; Sonnenschein, R.; Radeloff, V.C.; Clayton, M.K.; Locke, B.A.; Bash, D.; Hostert, P. Modelling avian biodiversity using raw, unclassified satellite imagery. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B-Biol. Sci. 2014, 369, doi:10.1098/rstb.2013.0197.
45. Wood, E.M.; Pidgeon, A.M.; Radeloff, V.C.; Keuler, N.S. Image texture predicts avian density and species richness. PLoS ONE 2013, 8, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0063211.
46. Goetz, S.; Steinberg, D.; Dubayah, R.; Blair, B. Laser remote sensing of canopy habitat heterogeneity as a predictor of bird species richness in an eastern temperate forest, USA. Remote Sens. Environ. 2007, 108, 254-263.
47. Simonson, W.D.; Allen, H.D.; Coomes, D.A. Applications of airborne lidar for the assessment of animal species diversity. Methods Ecol. Evol. 2014, 5, 719-729.
48. Hill, R.A.; Hinsley, S.A.; Broughton, R.K. Assessing habitats and organism-habitat relationships by airborne laser scanning. In Forestry Applications of Airborne Laser Scanning: Concepts and Case Studies; Maltamo, M., Naesset, E., Vauhkonen, J., Eds.; Springer: Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2014; Volume 27, pp. 335-356.
49. Müller, J.; Vierling, K. Assessing biodiversity by airborne laser scanning. In Forestry Applications of Airborne Laser Scanning: Concepts and Case Studies; Maltamo, M., Naesset, E., Vauhkonen, J., Eds.; Springer: Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2014; Volume 27, pp. 357-374.
50. Weisberg, P.J.; Dilts, T.E.; Becker, M.E.; Young, J.S.; Wong-Kone, D.C.; Newton, W.E.; Ammon, E.M. Guild-specific responses of avian species richness to lidar-derived habitat heterogeneity. Acta Oecol. 2014, 59, 72-83.
51. Vogeler, J.C.; Hudak, A.T.; Vierling, L.A.; Evans, J.; Green, P.; Vierling, K.I.T. Terrain and vegetation structural influences on local avian species richness in two mixed-conifer forests. Remote Sens. Environ. 2014, 147, 13-22.
52. Eldegard, K.; Dirksen, J.W.; Ørka, H.O.; Halvorsen, R.; Næsset, E.; Gobakken, T.; Ohlson, M. Modelling bird richness and bird species presence in a boreal forest reserve using airborne laser-scanning and aerial images. Bird Study 2014, 61, 204-219.
53. Müller, J.; Moning, C.; Bässler, C.; Heurich, M.; Brandl, R. Using airborne laser scanning to model potential abundance and assemblages of forest passerines. Basic Appl. Ecol. 2009, 10, 671-681.
54. Culbert, P.D.; Radeloff, V.C.; Flather, C.H.; Kellndorfer, J.M.; Rittenhouse, C.D.; Pidgeon, A.M. The influence of vertical and horizontal habitat structure on nationwide patterns of avian biodiversity. Auk 2013, 130, 656-665.
55. Muukkonen, P.; Angervuori, A.; Virtanen, T.; Kuparinen, A.; Merila, J. Loss and fragmentation of siberian jay (perisoreus infaustus) habitats. Boreal Environ. Res. 2012, 17, 59-71.
56. Sirkia, S.; Helle, P.; Linden, H.; Nikula, A.; Norrdahl, K.; Suorsa, P.; Valkeajarvi, P. Persistence of capercaillie (tetrao urogallus) lekking areas depends on forest cover and fine-grain fragmentation of boreal forest landscapes. Ornis Fenn. 2011, 88, 14-29.
57. Huang, Q.; Swatantran, A.; Dubayah, R.; Goetz, S.J., The influence of vegetation height heterogeneity on forest and woodland bird species richness across the United States. PLoS ONE 2014, 9, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0103236.
58. Ahti, T.; Hämet-Ahti, L.; Jalas, J. Vegetation zones and their sections in northwestern Europe. Ann. Bot. Fenn. 1968, 5, 169-211.
59. Arnborg, T. Forest types of northern Sweden. Vegetatio 1990, 90, 1-13.
60. Johansson, T.; Andersson, J.; Hjältén, J.; Dynesius, M.; Ecke, F. Short-term responses of beetle assemblages to wildfire in a region with more than 100 years of fire suppression. Insect Conserv. Divers. 2011, 4, 142-151.
61. Silfverberg, H. Enumeratio nova Coleopterorum Fennoscandiae, Daniae et Baltiae. Sahlbergia 2004, 9, 1-111, in English.
62. Egberth, M.; Nilsson, M.; Axensten, P. kNN-Sweden-Current map data on forest land. Available online: http://skogskarta.slu.se/index.cfm?eng=1 (accessed on 21 January 2014).
63. MacArthur, R.; MacArthur, J.W. On bird species diversity. Ecology 1961, 42, 594-598.
64. Bellamy, P.E.; Hill, R.A.; Rothery, P.; Hinsley, S.A.; Fuller, R.J.; Broughton, R.K. Willow warbler phylloscopus trochilus habitat in woods with different structure and management in southern England. Bird Study 2009, 56, 338-348.
65. Hinsley, S.A.; Hill, R.A.; Bellamy, P.E.; Harrison, N.M.; Speakman, J.R.; Wilson, A.K.; Ferns, P.N. Effects of structural and functional habitat gaps on breeding woodland birds: Working harder for less. Landsc. Ecol. 2008, 23, 615-626.
66. Müller, J.; Brandl, R., Assessing biodiversity by remote sensing in mountainous terrain: The potential of lidar to predict forest beetle assemblages. J. Appl. Ecol. 2009, 46, 897-905.
67. Müller, J.; Stadler, J.; Brandl, R., Composition versus physiognomy of vegetation as predictors of bird assemblages: The role of lidar. Remote Sens. Environ. 2010, 114, 490-495.
68. Burnham, K.P.; Anderson, D.R. Model Selection and Multimodel Inference: A Practical Information-Theoretic Approach; Springer: New York, NY, USA, 2002; p. 488.
69. Geisser, S. Predictive Inference: An Introduction; Chapman & Hall: New York, NY, USA, 1993.
70. Clawges, R.; Vierling, K.; Vierling, L.; Rowell, E. The use of airborne lidar to assess avian species diversity, density, and occurrence in a pine/aspen forest. Remote Sens. Environ. 2008, 112, 2064-2073.
71. Ranius, T.; Martikainen, P.; Kouki, J. Colonisation of ephemeral forest habitats by specialised species: Beetles and bugs associated with recently dead aspen wood. Biodivers. Conserv. 2011, 20, 2903-2915.
72. Sverdrup-Thygeson, A.; Gustafsson, L.; Kouki, J. Spatial and temporal scales relevant for conservation of dead-wood associated species: Current status and perspectives. Biodivers. Conserv. 2014, 23, 513-535.
73. Wells, K.; Boehm, S.M.; Boch, S.; Fischer, M.; Kalko, E.K.V. Local and landscape-scale forest attributes differ in their impact on bird assemblages across years in forest production landscapes. Basic Appl. Ecol. 2011, 12, 97-106.
74. Andersson, J.; Hjältén, J.; Dynesius, M. Long-term effects of stump harvesting and landscape composition on beetle assemblages in the hemiboreal forest of Sweden. For. Ecol. Manag. 2012, 271, 75-80.
75. Azeria, E.T.; Fortin, D.; Hebert, C.; Peres-Neto, P.; Pothier, D.; Ruel, J.-C. Using null model analysis of species co-occurrences to deconstruct biodiversity patterns and select indicator species. Divers. Distrib. 2009, 15, 958-971.
76. Törmä, M. Estimation of tree Species Proportions of Forest Stands Using Laser Scanning. ISPRS Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci. 2000, XXXIII (Part B7), 1524-1531.
77. Packalén, P.; Maltamo, M. The k-msn method for the prediction of species-specific stand attributes using airborne laser scanning and aerial photographs. Remote Sens. Environ. 2007, 109, 328-341.
78. Elo, M.; Roberge, J.-M.; Rajasarkka, A.; Monkkonen, M. Energy density and its variation in space limit species richness of boreal forest birds. J. Biogeogr. 2012, 39, 1462-1472.
79. Gibb, H.; Johansson, T.; Stenbacka, F.; Hjältén, J. Functional roles affect diversity-succession relationships for boreal beetles. PLoS ONE 2013, 8, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0072764.
80. Hjältén, J.; Stenbacka, F.; Pettersson, R.B.; Gibb, H.; Johansson, T.; Danell, K.; Ball, J.P.; Hilszczanski, J. Micro and macro-habitat associations in saproxylic beetles: Implications for biodiversity management. PLoS ONE 2012, 7, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0041100.
81. Roberge, J.-M.; Angelstam, P.; Villard, M.-A. Specialised woodpeckers and naturalness in hemiboreal forests-Deriving quantitative targets for conservation planning. Biol. Conserv. 2008, 141, 997-1012.
82. Janssen, P.; Fortin, D.; Hebert, C. Beetle diversity in a matrix of old-growth boreal forest: Influence of habitat heterogeneity at multiple scales. Ecography 2009, 32, 423-432.
83. Helle, P. Effects of forest regeneration on the structure of bird communities in northern Finland. Holarct. Ecol. 1985, 8, 120-132.
84. Lesak, A.A.; Radeloff, V.C.; Hawbaker, T.J.; Pidgeon, A.M.; Gobakken, T.; Contrucci, K. Modeling forest songbird species richness using LiDAR-derived measures of forest structure. Remote Sens. Environ. 2011, 115, 2823-2835.
85. Jones, T.G.; Arcese, P.; Sharma, T.; Coops, N.C. Describing avifaunal richness with functional and structural bioindicators derived from advanced airborne remotely sensed data. Int. J. Remote Sens. 2013, 34, 2689-2713.
86. Dahlberg, A.; Stokland, J.N. Vedlevande Arters Krav på Substrat-en Sammanställning Och Analys av 3600 Arter (in Swedish with English summary: Substrate Requirements of Wood-Inhabiting Species-A Synthesis and Analysis of 3600 Species); Skogsstyrelsen: Jönköping, Sweden, 2004.
87. Bernes, C. Biologisk Mångfald i Sverige. Monitor 22 (Biodiversity in Sweden. Monitor 22); Naturvårdsverket/The Swedish Environment Protection Agency: Stockholm, Sweden, 2011.