Changes in timber haul emissions in the context of shifting forest management and infrastructure

Background  

Although significant amounts of carbon may be stored in harvested wood products, the extraction of that carbon from the forest generally entails combustion of fossil fuels. The transport of timber from the forest to primary milling facilities may in particular create emissions that reduce the net sequestration value of product carbon storage. However, attempts to quantify the effects of transport on the net effects of forest management typically use relatively sparse survey data to determine transportation emission factors. We developed an approach for systematically determining transport emissions using: 1) -remotely sensed maps to estimate the spatial distribution of harvests, and 2) - industry data to determine landscape-level harvest volumes as well as the location and processing totals of individual mills. These data support spatial network analysis that can produce estimates of fossil carbon released in timber transport.     

Mapping and monitoring carbon stocks with satellite observations: a comparison of methods

Mapping and monitoring carbon stocks in forested regions of the world, particularly the tropics, has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years as deforestation and forest degradation account for up to 30% of anthropogenic carbon emissions, and are now included in climate change negotiations. We review the potential for satellites to measure carbon stocks, specifically aboveground biomass (AGB), and provide an overview of a range of approaches that have been developed and used to map AGB across a diverse set of conditions and geographic areas. We provide a summary of types of remote sensing measurements relevant to mapping AGB, and assess the relative merits and limitations of each. We then provide an overview of traditional techniques of mapping AGB based on ascribing field measurements to vegetation or land cover type classes, and describe the merits and limitations of those relative to recent data mining algorithms used in the context of an approach based on direct utilization of remote sensing measurements, whether optical or lidar reflectance, or radar backscatter. We conclude that while satellite remote sensing has often been discounted as inadequate for the task, attempts to map AGB without satellite imagery are insufficient. Moreover, the direct remote sensing approach provided more coherent maps of AGB relative to traditional approaches. We demonstrate this with a case study focused on continental Africa and discuss the work in the context of reducing uncertainty for carbon monitoring and markets.     

The IGS VTEC maps: a reliable source of ionospheric information since 1998

The International GNSS Service (IGS) Working Group on Ionosphere was created in 1998. Since then, the Scientific community behind IGS, in particular CODE, ESA, JPL and UPC, have been continuosly contributing to reliable IGS combined vertical total electron content (VTEC) maps in both rapid and final schedules. The details on how these products are being generated, performance numbers, proposed improvement as far as VTEC evolution trends during near one Solar Cycle, are summarized in this paper. The confirmation of (1) the good performance of the IGS combined VTEC maps, and (2) the characteristic VTEC variability periods, are two main results of this work.     

Estimating sagebrush cover in semi-arid environments using Landsat Thematic Mapper data

Sagebrush ecosystems of the western US provide important habitat for several ungulate and vertebrate species. As a consequence of energy development, these ecosystems in Wyoming have been subjected to a variety of anthropogenic disturbances. Land managers require methodology that will allow them to consistently catalog sagebrush ecosystems and evaluate potential impact of proposed anthropogenic activities. This study addresses the utility of remotely sensed and ancillary geospatial data to estimate sagebrush cover using ordinal logistic regression. We demonstrate statistically significant prediction of ordinal sagebrush cover categories using spectral (χ² = 113; p < 0.0001) and transformed indices (χ² = 117; p < 0.0001). Both Landsat spectral bands (c-value = 0.88) and transformed indices (c-value = 0.89) can distinguish sites with closed, moderate and open cover sagebrush cover categories from no cover. The techniques described in this study can be used for estimating categories of sagebrush cover in arid ecosystems.     

Distribution analysis of salt affected soils under canal and non-canal command area in a part of Etah district,U. P., using remote sensing technique

A World Bank-aided project on sodic land reclamation in Uttar Pradesh is being executed by U.P. Bhumi Sudhar Nigam, Lucknow, and Remote Sensing Applications Centre, U.P., Lucknow has the responsibility of sodic land mapping for the execution of land reclamation programme at the cadastral level. Sodic lands are mainly concentrated in the Gangetic alluvial plains but the problem of sodicity is particularly acute in the canal-irrigated areas. A study of the distribution pattern of sodic lands in canal and noncanal command areas in a reclamation site (covering 60 villages out of which sodic lands were mapped in 51 villages) of Etah district in Uttar Pradesh, indicates that 18.39 per cent area of the canal command villages was barren sodic which was 13.41 per cent of the total geographical area of the site (15417 ha), however, 11.69 per cent area was recorded to be barren sodic in the non-canal command villages which was only 3.16 per cent of the geographical area of the site. The results of soil chemical analysis indicate that barren sodic lands of canal command area are saline-sodic with higher concentration of soluble salts (pH₂ >8.5, EC₂ >4 dSm⁻¹), however, those of non-canal command area are sodic (pH₂ >8.5, EC₂ <4 dSm⁻¹). The post-monsoon ground level in the canal-irrigated areas was in the critical and semicritical zone (< 3.0 mbgl) whereas it was well below the semi-critical zone in the non-canal command area, which indicates that the high ground water level is a major factor to higher the area under sodicity.     

Applications of AnnAGNPS model for soil loss estimation and nutrient loading for Malaysian conditions

The study evaluated the performance and suitability of AnnAGNPS model in assessing runoff, sediment loading and nutrient loading under Malaysian conditions. The watershed of River Kuala Tasik in Malaysia, a combination of two sub-watersheds, was selected as the area of study. The data for the year 2004 was used to calibrate the model and the data for the year 2005 was used for validation purposes. Several input parameters were computed using methods suggested by other researchers and studies carried out in Malaysia. The study shows that runoff was predicted well with an overall R² value of 0.90 and E value of 0.70. Sediment loading was able to produce a moderate result of R² = 0.66 and E = 0.49, nitrogen loading predictions were slightly better with R² = 0.68 and E = 0.53, and phosphorus loading performance was slightly poor with an R² = 0.63 and E = 0.33. The erosion map developed was in agreement with the erosion risk map produced by the Department of Agriculture, Malaysia. Rubber estates and urban areas were found to be the main contributors to soil erosion. The simulation results showed that AnnAGNPS has the potential to be used as a valuable tool for planning and management of watersheds under Malaysian conditions.     

Approaches for comparative evaluation of raster GIS-based landslide susceptibility zonation maps

Evaluation of maps generated from different conceptual models or data processing approaches at spatial level has importance in many geoenvironmental applications. This paper addresses the spatial comparison of different landslide susceptibility zonation (LSZ) raster maps of the same area derived from various procedures.     

Evaluation of the geometric stability and the accuracy potential of digital cameras — Comparing mechanical stabilisation versus parameterisation

Recent tests on the geometric stability of several digital cameras that were not designed for photogrammetric applications have shown that the accomplished accuracies in object space are either limited or that the accuracy potential is not exploited to the fullest extent. A total of 72 calibrations were calculated with four different software products for eleven digital camera models with different hardware setups, some with mechanical fixation of one or more parts. The calibration procedure was chosen in accord to a German guideline for evaluation of optical 3D measuring systems [VDI/VDE, VDI/VDE 2634 Part 1, 2002. Optical 3D Measuring Systems–Imaging Systems with Point-by-point Probing. Beuth Verlag, Berlin]. All images were taken with ringflashes which was considered a standard method for close-range photogrammetry. In cases where the flash was mounted to the lens, the force exerted on the lens tube and the camera mount greatly reduced the accomplished accuracy. Mounting the ringflash to the camera instead resulted in a large improvement of accuracy in object space. For standard calibration best accuracies in object space were accomplished with a Canon EOS 5D and a 35 mm Canon lens where the focusing tube was fixed with epoxy (47  μm maximum absolute length measurement error in object space). The fixation of the Canon lens was fairly easy and inexpensive resulting in a sevenfold increase in accuracy compared with the same lens type without modification. A similar accuracy was accomplished with a Nikon D3 when mounting the ringflash to the camera instead of the lens (52  μm maximum absolute length measurement error in object space). Parameterisation of geometric instabilities by introduction of an image variant interior orientation in the calibration process improved results for most cameras. In this case, a modified Alpa 12 WA yielded the best results (29  μm maximum absolute length measurement error in object space). Extending the parameter model with FiBun software to model not only an image variant interior orientation, but also deformations in the sensor domain of the cameras, showed significant improvements only for a small group of cameras. The Nikon D3 camera yielded the best overall accuracy (25  μm maximum absolute length measurement error in object space) with this calibration procedure indicating at the same time the presence of image invariant error in the sensor domain. Overall, calibration results showed that digital cameras can be applied for an accurate photogrammetric survey and that only a little effort was sufficient to greatly improve the accuracy potential of digital cameras.     

Accuracy analysis for the NAD 83 geodetic reference system

The North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) provides horizontal coordinates for more than 250,000 geodetic stations. These coordinates were derived by a least squares adjustment of existing terrestrial and space-based geodetic data. For pairs of first order stations with interstation distances between 10km and 100km, therms discrepancy between distances derived fromNAD 83 coordinates and distances derived from independentGPS data may be suitably approximated by the empirical rulee=0.008 K^0.7 where e denotes therms discrepancy in meters and K denotes interstation distance in kilometers. For the same station pairs, therms discrepancy in azimuth may be approximated by the empirical rule e=0.020 K^0.5. Similar formulas characterize therms discrepancies for pairs involving second and third order stations. Distance and orientation accuracies, moreover, are well within adopted standards. While these expressions indicate that the magnitudes of relative positional accuracies depend on station order, absolute positional accuracies are similar in magnitude for first, second, and third order stations. Adjustment residuals reveal a few local problems with theNAD 83 coordinates and with the weights assigned to certain classes of observations.     

Significance of the remotely sensed thermal infrared measurements obtained over a citrus orchard

In this work we have developed a theoretical model that helps the interpretation of the remotely sensed thermal infrared measurements carried out over citrus orchards. A detailed analysis of the different factors which take part in the definition of the effective emissivity and temperature (observation height, viewing angle, type of soil, dimensions and separation between orange trees) is made. The model was validated under vertical observation in a citrus orchard during seven nights. In this situation we have determined that the model performs to an accuracy of about 1%.