Segment-constrained regression tree estimation of forest stand height from very high spatial resolution panchromatic imagery over a boreal environment

Mean stand height is an important parameter for forest volume and biomass estimation in support of monitoring and management activities. Information on mean stand height is typically obtained through the manual interpretation of aerial photography, often supplemented by the collection of field calibration data. In remote areas where forest management practices may not be spatially exhaustive or where it is difficult to acquire aerial photography, alternate approaches for estimating stand height are required. One approach is to use very high spatial resolution (VHSR) satellite imagery (pixels sided less than 1 m) as a surrogate for air photos. In this research we demonstrate an approach for modelling mean stand height at four sites in the Yukon Territory, Canada, from QuickBird panchromatic imagery. An object-based approach was used to generate homogenous segments from the imagery (analogous to manually delineated forest stands) and an algorithm was used to automatically delineate individual tree crowns within the segments. A regression tree was used to predict mean stand height from stand-level metrics generated from the image grey-levels and within-stand objects relating individual tree crown characteristics. Heights were manually interpreted from the QuickBird imagery and divided into separate sets of calibration and validation data. The effects of calibration data set size and the input metrics used on the regression tree results were also assessed. The approach resulted in a model with a significant R² of 0.53 and an RMSE of 2.84 m. In addition, 84.6% of the stand height estimates were within the acceptable error for photo interpreted heights, as specified by the forest inventory standards of British Columbia. Furthermore, residual errors from the model were smallest for the stands that had larger mean heights (i.e., > 20 m), which aids in reducing error in subsequent estimates of biomass or volume (since stands with larger trees contribute more to overall estimates of volume or biomass). Estimated and manually interpreted heights were reclassified into 5-metre height classes (a schema frequently used for forest analysis and modelling applications) and compared; classes corresponded in 54% of stands assessed, and all stands had an estimated height class that was within ± 1 class of their actual class. This study demonstrates the capacity of VHSR panchromatic imagery (in this case QuickBird) for generating useful estimates of mean stand heights in unmonitored, remote, or inaccessible forest areas.     

Assessing the utility of airborne hyperspectral and LiDAR data for species distribution mapping in the coastal Pacific Northwest, Canada

To effectively manage forested ecosystems an accurate characterization of species distribution is required. In this study we assess the utility of hyperspectral Airborne Imaging Spectrometer for Applications (AISA) imagery and small footprint discrete return Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data for mapping 11 tree species in and around the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, in coastal South-western Canada. Using hyperspectral imagery yielded producer's and user's accuracies for most species ranging from > 52-95.4 and > 63-87.8%, respectively. For species dominated by definable growth stages, pixel-level fusion of hyperspectral imagery with LiDAR-derived height and volumetric canopy profile data increased both producer's (+ 5.1-11.6%) and user's (+ 8.4-18.8%) accuracies. McNemar's tests confirmed that improvements in overall accuracies associated with the inclusion of LiDAR-derived structural information were statistically significant (p < 0.05). This methodology establishes a specific framework for mapping key species with greater detail and accuracy then is possible using conventional approaches (i.e., aerial photograph interpretation), or either technology on its own. Furthermore, in the study area, acquisition and processing costs were lower than a conventional aerial photograph interpretation campaign, making hyperspectral/LiDAR fusion a viable replacement technology.     

Remote sensing of photosynthetic light-use efficiency across two forested biomes: Spatial scaling

Eddy covariance (EC) measurements have greatly advanced our knowledge of carbon exchange in terrestrial ecosystems. However, appropriate techniques are required to upscale these spatially discrete findings globally. Satellite remote sensing provides unique opportunities in this respect, but remote sensing of the photosynthetic light-use efficiency (ε), one of the key components of Gross Primary Production, is challenging. Some progress has been made in recent years using the photochemical reflectance index, a narrow waveband index centered at 531 and 570 nm. The high sensitivity of this index to various extraneous effects such as canopy structure, and the view observer geometry has so far prevented its use at landscape and global scales. One critical aspect of upscaling PRI is the development of generic algorithms to account for structural differences in vegetation. Building on previous work, this study compares the differences in the PRI: ? relationship between a coastal Douglas-fir forest located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and a mature Aspen stand located in central Saskatchewan, Canada. Using continuous, tower-based observations acquired from an automated multi-angular spectro-radiometer (AMSPEC II) installed at each site, we demonstrate that PRI can be used to measure ? throughout the vegetation season at the DF-49 stand (r² = 0.91, p < 0.00) as well as the deciduous site (r² = 0.88, p < 0.00). It is further shown that this PRI signal can be also observed from space at both sites using daily observations from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) and a multi-angular implementation of atmospheric correction (MAIAC) (r² = 0.54 DF-49; r² = 0.63 SOA; p < 0.00). By implementing a simple hillshade model derived from airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) to approximate canopy shadow fractions (α_s), it is further demonstrated that the differences observed in the relationship between PRI and ε at DF-49 and SOA can be attributed largely to differences in α_s. The findings of this study suggest that algorithms used to separate physiological from extraneous effects in PRI reflectance may be more broadly applicable and portable across these two climatically and structurally different biome types, when the differences in canopy structure are known.     

高度优先加法链m元标量速乘算法研究

为提高标量点乘在移动计算设备中的运算效率,并增强其计算安全性,比较分析了加法链方法、m-ary方法等标量点乘方法的执行过程和加速性能特征,提出了基于高度优先加法链和自由窗口宽度的Improved-m-ary的标量点乘方法。分析结论和实验仿真数据表明,该方法能有效减轻标量平均汉明重量,降低标量点乘计算量,内嵌的窗口值杂乱化机制使得其针对旁路信道分析攻击表现出出色的免疫力。     

Effects of different sensors, flying altitudes, and pulse repetition frequencies on forest canopy metrics and biophysical stand properties derived from small-footprint airborne laser data

Canopy height distributions were created from small-footprint airborne laser scanner (ALS) data collected over 40 field sample plots with size 1000 m² located in mature conifer forest. ALS data were collected with two different instruments, i.e., the ALTM 1233 and ALTM 3100 laser scanners (Optech Inc.). The ALTM 1233 data were acquired at a flying altitude of 1200 m and a pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 33 kHz. Three different acquisitions were carried out with ALTM 3100, i.e., (1) a flying altitude of 1100 m and a PRF of 50 kHz, (2) a flying altitude of 1100 m and a PRF of 100 kHz, and (3) a flying altitude of 2000 m and a PRF of 50 kHz. Height percentiles, mean and maximum height values, coefficients of variation of the heights, and canopy density at different height intervals above the ground were derived from the four different ALS datasets and for single + first and last echoes of the ALS data separately. The ALS-derived height- and density variables were assessed in pair-wise comparisons to evaluate the effects of (a) instrument, (b) flying altitude, and (c) PRF. A systematic shift in height values of up to 0.3 m between sensors when the first echoes were compared was demonstrated. Also the density-related variables differed significantly between the two instruments. Comparisons of flying altitudes and PRFs revealed upwards shifted canopy height distributions for the highest flying altitude (2000 m) and the lowest PRF (50 kHz). The distribution of echoes on different echo categories, i.e., single and multiple (first and last) echoes, differed significantly between acquisitions. The proportion of multiple echoes decreased with increasing flying altitude and PRF. Different echo categories have different properties since it is likely that single echoes tend to occur in the densest parts of the tree crowns, i.e., near the apex where the concentration of biological matter is highest and distance to the ground is largest. To assess the influence of instrument, flying altitude, and PRF on biophysical properties derived from ALS data, regression analysis was carried out to relate ALS-derived metrics to mean tree height (h_L) and timber volume (V). Cross validation revealed only minor differences in precision for the different ALS acquisitions, but systematic differences between acquisitions of up to 2.5% for h_L and 10.7% for V were found when comparing data from different acquisitions.     

Development of a pit filling algorithm for LiDAR canopy height models

LiDAR canopy height models (CHMs) can exhibit unnatural looking holes or pits, i.e., pixels with a much lower digital number than their immediate neighbors. These artifacts may be caused by a combination of factors, from data acquisition to post-processing, that not only result in a noisy appearance to the CHM but may also limit semi-automated tree-crown delineation and lead to errors in biomass estimates. We present a highly effective semi-automated pit filling algorithm that interactively detects data pits based on a simple user-defined threshold, and then fills them with a value derived from their neighborhood. We briefly describe this algorithm and its graphical user interface, and show its result in a LiDAR CHM populated with data pits. This method can be rapidly applied to any CHM with minimal user interaction. Visualization confirms that our method effectively and quickly removes data pits.     

一种改进的UAV高度无缝融合导航方法

为了解决无人飞行器多机载高度传感器直接使用和切换导致的信号突变的问题,提出了一种基于微惯性器件、GPS、声纳、气压高度计的高度无缝融合方法.建立声纳和气压高度计误差模型,对其动态误差进行了分析和滤波预处理.采用基于增量的无缝融合方法获取高度变化估计值以修正气压高度.利用无迹卡尔曼滤波(UKF)方法将气压高度计、GPS和惯性导航系统信息进行有效融合获得精确的高度估计值.该方法考虑了各种高度传感器在动态环境下的误差特性,解决了模式切换带来的信号突变问题.飞行试验结果表明:采用该设计的方法系统具有较高的精度和可靠性.经过150 s飞行后,高度估计误差为0.4707m,能够满足无人飞行器飞行要求.     

数字压力传感器BP5607应用实现

基于MEMS技术的数字压力传感器技术正处于一个迅猛发展的阶段,数字压力传感器目前的灵敏度可以做到0.01mbar,高灵敏度、高分辨率的数字压力传感器在日常生活中越发扮演着重要的角色。介绍了高分辨率数字压力传感器BP5607的设计思想;基于ARM处理器LPC1768+BP5607的架构,结合改进型差分气压测高的高程算法实现了BP5607的气压测高仪,克服了在“国际标准大气”模型下大气压无规则变化带来的高程测量误差,提高了高程测量精度。实验表明,该测高仪具有优于0.2m的高程测量分辨率和较高的灵敏度,对导航定位形成良好的辅助效果。     

空心互感式位移传感器

本文介绍一种空心互感式位移传感器,其工作原理是采用开关方式,以恒流源双向向空心互感的原边线圈充放电,采样副边线圈在稳定放电期间的窄脉冲高度来测量位移量,量程可达20mm,相对精度为2%。论述了互感值的测量,分别设计了轴向和径向两个位移的试验及捕获采样数据的电路,从数据分析证明该方法可以测量位移,减少了空心线圈中的干扰对测量的影响,轴向位移还可以直接测量电介质材料的厚度。