Canopy height (CH)

DATA OVERVIEW

Mapped attributes are

• above ground biomass, AGB;
• downed wood biomass, i.e., the sum of coarse and fine woody debris, DWB;
• canopy bulk density, CBD;
• canopy height,CH;
• canopy base height, CBH;
• and canopy fuel load, CFL.

Models were fit using auxiliary information that included lidar data from 20 acquisitions in Oregon and climate data. Measurements in plots of the Forest Inventory and Analysis program (FIA) were used to obtain plot-level ground observations for predictive modeling. Tree and transect measurements in FIA plots were respectively used to obtain plot-level values of AGB and DWB. To obtain plot-level values of CBD, CH, CBH and CFL, tree measurements in FIA plots were processed with FuelCalc. Plot level auxiliary variables were obtained intersecting the axiliary information layers with the FIA plots. Predictive models were random forest models in which a parametric component was added to model the error variance. The error variance was modeled as a power function of the predictive value and was used to produce uncertainty maps. A different model was fit for each variable and the resulting models were used to obtain maps of synthetic predictions for all areas covered by the 20 lidar acquisitions. The modeled error variance was used to generate uncertainty maps for the predictions of each response variable. Model accuracy was assessed globally (for the entire dataset) and separately for each one of the 20 lidar acquisitions included in the dataset.

Results from the accuracy assessment can be found in Appendix A and Appendix B of Mauro et al. (2021).

Each variable has two associated maps. These maps are named using the following convention where VARIABLE is the acronym for each variable (AGB, DWB, CBD, CH, CBH or CFL):

Predictions of forest attributes:

Standard deviation of modeled errors:

### There are two additional rasters. The first one, year.tif is necessary to obtain the reference year for each lidar acquisition. The second one, forest_mask.tif provides a forest vs non-forest mask. Forested areas are coded as 1s and non-forested areas with no-datas. This mask is a resampled subset of the PALSAR JAXA 2014 ‘New global 25m-resolution PALSAR mosaic and forest/non-forest map (2007-2010) - version 1’ from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Earth Observation Research Center (www.eorc.jaxa.jp/ALOS/en/palsar_fnf/fnf_index.htm). Its reference year is 2009. Models to predict forest attributes were created using ground observations in forested areas. For many applications it is advisable to use the provided mask to excluded non-forested areas from analyses. This can be done, for example, multiplying the desired raster by the forest mask. Exceptions to this may occur in relatively open forested lands where the mask eliminates areas that actually sustain forest. In those areas, the use of an add-hoc forest mask might be more appropriate. ### Reference year: year.tif ### Forest mask: forest_mask.tif ###

UNITS:

For a given variable, both predictions and standard deviation of model errors have the same units. These units are:

Variable (Abreviation): Units

Above ground biomass (AGB): Mg/ha

Downed wood biomass (DWB):Mg/ha

Canopy bulk density (CBD): Kg/m3 (Kilogram per cubic meter)

Canopy height (CH): m

Canopy base height (CBH): m

Canopy fuel load (CFL):Mg/ha

COORDINATE REFERENCE SYSTEM:

The reference system for all maps is EPSG 5070

USAGE

These data are made freely available to the public and the scientific community in the belief that their wide dissemination will lead to greater understanding and new scientific insights. Please include the following citation in any publication that uses these data:

Mauro, F., Hudak, A.T., Fekety, P.A., Frank, B., Temesgen, H., Bell, D.M., Gregory, M.J., McCarley, T.R., 2021\. Regional Modeling of Forest Fuels and Structural Attributes Using Airborne Laser Scanning Data in Oregon. Remote Sensing 13\. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13020261