Spatial variation and prediction of forest biomass in a heterogeneous landscape  

作　　者：S. Lamsal D. M. Rizzo R. K. Meentemeyer 

机构地区：[1]Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, NC, U. S. A [2]Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, CA, U. S. A.

出　　处：《Journal of Forestry Research》2012年第1期13-22,共10页林业研究（英文版）

基　　金：financially supported by the National Science Foundation (EF-0622770 and EF-0622677);the USDA Forest Service–Pacific Southwest Research Station;the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation

摘　　要：Large areas assessments of forest bioinass distribution are a challenge in heterogeneous landscapes, where variations in tree growth and species composition occur over short distances. In this study, we use statistical and geospatial modeling on densely sample.d forest biomass data to analyze the relative importance of ecological and physiographic variables as determinants of spatial variation of forest biomass in the environmentally heterogeneous region of the Big Sur, California. We estimated biomass in 280 forest Plots （one plot per 2.85 km2） and meas- ured an array of ecological （vegetation community type, distance to edge, amount of surrounding non-forest vegetation, soil properties, fire history） and physiographic drivers （elevation, potential soil moisture and solar radiation, proximity to the coast） of tree growth at each plot location. Our geostatistical analyses revealed that biomass distribution is spatially structured and autocorrelated up to 3.1 kin. Regression tree （RT） models showed that both physiographic and ecological factors influenced bio- mass distribution. Across randomly selected sample densities （sample size 112 to 280）, ecological effects of vegetation community type and distance to forest edge, and physiographic effects of elevation, potential soil moisture and solar radiation were the most consistent predictors of biomass. Topographic moisture index and potential solar radiation had apositive effect on biomass, indicating the importance of topographically- mediated energy and moisture on plant growth and biomass accumula- tion. RT model explained 35% of the variation in biomass and spatially autocorrelated variation were retained in regession residuals. Regression kriging model, developed from RT combined with kriging of regression residuals, was used to map biomass across the Big Sur. This study dem- onstrates how statistical and geospatial modeling can be used to dis- criminate the relative importance of physiographic and ecologic effects on forest biomass and deveLarge areas assessments of forest bioinass distribution are a challenge in heterogeneous landscapes, where variations in tree growth and species composition occur over short distances. In this study, we use statistical and geospatial modeling on densely sample.d forest biomass data to analyze the relative importance of ecological and physiographic variables as determinants of spatial variation of forest biomass in the environmentally heterogeneous region of the Big Sur, California. We estimated biomass in 280 forest Plots （one plot per 2.85 km2） and meas- ured an array of ecological （vegetation community type, distance to edge, amount of surrounding non-forest vegetation, soil properties, fire history） and physiographic drivers （elevation, potential soil moisture and solar radiation, proximity to the coast） of tree growth at each plot location. Our geostatistical analyses revealed that biomass distribution is spatially structured and autocorrelated up to 3.1 kin. Regression tree （RT） models showed that both physiographic and ecological factors influenced bio- mass distribution. Across randomly selected sample densities （sample size 112 to 280）, ecological effects of vegetation community type and distance to forest edge, and physiographic effects of elevation, potential soil moisture and solar radiation were the most consistent predictors of biomass. Topographic moisture index and potential solar radiation had apositive effect on biomass, indicating the importance of topographically- mediated energy and moisture on plant growth and biomass accumula- tion. RT model explained 35% of the variation in biomass and spatially autocorrelated variation were retained in regession residuals. Regression kriging model, developed from RT combined with kriging of regression residuals, was used to map biomass across the Big Sur. This study dem- onstrates how statistical and geospatial modeling can be used to dis- criminate the relative importance of physiographic and ecologic effects on forest biomass and deve

关 键 词：forest biomass landscape heterogeneity spatial variation SEMIVARIOGRAM regression tree regression kriging Big Sur California 

分 类 号：S718.5[农业科学—林学]