Forest canopy cover and canopy closure: comparison of assessment techniques

Paletto, Alessandro; Tosi, V.

doi:10.1007/s10342-009-0262-x

Cited by 127 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Overstory canopy cover and closure were measured at each location using GRS (''moosehorn'') and concave mirror densiometers (Cook et al, 1995;Jennings et al, 1999;Paletto and Tosi, 2009), respectively. The two techniques measure cover as ''the area of the ground covered by a vertical projection of the canopy'' and closure as ''the proportion of the sky hemisphere obscured by vegetation when viewed from a single point'' (Jennings et al, 1999).…”

Section: Field Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest-floor temperatures and soil moisture across riparian zones on first- to third-order headwater streams in southern New England, USA

Brooks¹,

Kyker-Snowman²

2009

Forest Ecology and Management

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A B S T R A C TRiparian zones along forest streams in the western United States have been repeatedly shown to be floristically and climatically different from adjacent upland forest, and to be important contributors to forest biodiversity. Similar evidence for the presence or function of riparian zones is lacking for forests of the northeastern U.S. We conducted seasonal surveys of forest-floor temperature and soil moisture across 30-m riparian transects on first-to third-order streams in southern New England. We were unable to detect any effect of distance from the stream channel on either temperature or soil moisture. These preliminary results indicate the absence of a unique riparian forest-floor microclimate within 30 m of low-order streams in southern New England. While this study failed to identify a distinctive riparian microclimatic zone, protection of a riparian buffer during forestry operations or other disturbance is essential for the protection of forest streams and their resources and the maintenance of forest biodiversity.Published by Elsevier B.V.

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Section: Field Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest-floor temperatures and soil moisture across riparian zones on first- to third-order headwater streams in southern New England, USA

Brooks¹,

Kyker-Snowman²

2009

Forest Ecology and Management

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“…In particular, tree canopy cover is estimated in each inventory plot by technicians using spherical densiometer (Lemmon 1956). The spherical densiometer is a specific instrument for estimating canopy comprising a convex or concave mirror etched with a grid of 24 squares, within each of which the observer scores canopy cover at four equally spaced points (Paletto and Tosi, 2009). The technician counts the number of dots up to a total of 96 (24 squares subdivided into 4 smaller squares).…”

Section: Methodological Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Soil Protection to Support Forest Planning: an Experience in Southern Italy

Ferretti

Cantiani

Meo³

et al. 2014

For. syst.

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Aim of study: to support landscape planning when soil-erosion control and water cycle regulation represent relevant issues for forest management. A methodological approach - based on simplified index – is proposed in order to assess the protective efficacy of forests on soils (indirect protection). This method is aimed at supporting technicians who are requested to define the most suitable management guidelines and silvicultural treatments.Area of study: Southern Apennines (Alto Agri district – Basilicata Region - Italy), where a landscape planning experimentation was implemented. Material and Methods: The data to estimate the parameters used for the simplified index calculation are retrieved from a non aligned systematic forest inventory. The method considers: 1) the tendency towards instability, 2) the protective action of forest cover and 3) different silvicultural options.Main results: For the analysed forest categories, the results indicate the situations in which hydrogeological hazard is high. The cross-reading of these data with the values based on years of partial and total uncovering of the ground according to different silvicultural options (for each forest category in the reference period of 100 years) has supported the definition of silviculture treatments and management options suitable for the considered forest formations.Research highlights: The proposed method can effectively support technicians in the field by highlighting situations of major hazard risk. Thanks to the joined assessment of different silvicultural options for each forest category, a series of silvicultural treatments, capable of better protecting the soil, can be already defined in the field survey phase.Key words: Alto Agri district (Italy); Forest Landscape Management Planning (FLMP); management; silvicultural treatment; protective function and soil erosion.

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“…Secondo quanto dimostrato da Machado & Reich (1999), il LAI spiega il 90% della variazione giornaliera del flusso di fotoni, pertanto, il suo studio appare come un metodo efficiente per la stima della capacità di tolleranza all'ombra degli individui che crescono sotto copertura. Inoltre, l'accurata misura della copertura forestale è di cruciale importanza per studi e ricerche in vari ambiti disciplinari quali l'idrologia, la selvicoltura, gli inventari forestali e il monitoraggio ambientale (Cutini & Giannini 2009, Paletto & Tosi 2009, Chianucci & Cutini 2012.…”

Section: Introduzioneunclassified

Forest canopy analysis in the Alpine environment: comparison among assessment methods

Pastorella¹,

Paletto²

2013

Forest@

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) and it can be measured using an angle of 180°. Instead, the canopy cover is the percentage of forest area occupied by the vertical projection of tree crowns; consequently, LAI expresses the canopy closure rather than the canopy cover. This paper focuses on the estimation of LAI and canopy cover percentage in 54 sampling points randomly distributed over the main forest types of Trentino (beech forests, Scots pine forests, Norway spruce forests and European larch forests). The main purpose was the analysis of relationship between LAI and canopy cover percentage, the latter measured with two different techniques: visual estimation and estimation using the spherical densiometer. In the last part of the paper, LAI data collected in the four main forest types of Trentino are compared with values reported in the literature for the same forest types.

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Forest canopy cover and canopy closure: comparison of assessment techniques

Cited by 127 publications

References 27 publications

Forest-floor temperatures and soil moisture across riparian zones on first- to third-order headwater streams in southern New England, USA

Forest-floor temperatures and soil moisture across riparian zones on first- to third-order headwater streams in southern New England, USA

Assessment of Soil Protection to Support Forest Planning: an Experience in Southern Italy

Forest canopy analysis in the Alpine environment: comparison among assessment methods

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