Vegetation structure within the National Capital Region Network using LiDAR data and analysis: Prince William Forest Park, Catoctin Mountain Park, C & O Canal National Historical Park, and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Elmore AJ, Guinn SM, Sanders GM. 2013. Vegetation structure within the National Capital Region Network using LiDAR data and analysis: Prince William Forest Park, Catoctin Mountain Park, C & O Canal National Historical Park, and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/NCRN/NRDS—2013/475. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
This report describes data products and analysis of the three-dimensional structure of vegetation in portions of four, primarily forested national parks: Prince William Forest Park, Catoctin Mountain Park, C & O Canal National Historical Park, and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. All four parks are within the National Capital Region Inventory and Monitoring Network and contain forest monitoring plots that have been measured yearly since 2005. We acquired Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) surveys of these parks during leaf-on conditions in 2009 and 2010. From these data four primary products were generated: (1) digital elevation models (2-m resolution DEMs), (2) Canopy height models (at 1- and 2-m resolutions), (3) canopy gaps (defined as 2-m grid cells with canopies shorter than 3m), and (4) understory percent cover (2-m resolution). All data products are made available in standard GIS-compatible file formats and are intended to be used to understand spatial patterns in vegetation structure and as documentation of baseline conditions. Future assessments of vegetation structure using the same or similar methods would enable assessment of change in vegetation structure over time.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Elmore, Andrew; Guinn, Steven; Sanders, Geoffrey
- Date of Issue
- 2013-04
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- CATO , CHOH , HAFE , NCRN , NRSS , PRWI
- Keywords
- Canopy, canopy gaps, canopy height, Forest Monitor, Forest Structure, Landscape Monitor, Lidar, Remote Sensing, Understory
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Forest/Woodland Communities , Ecological Framework: Landscapes | Landscape Dynamics | Land Cover and Use