Forestry & Environmental Management

Spruce budworm tree host species distribution and abundance mapping using multi-temporal Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery

Bhattarai R., Rahimzadeh-Bajgiran P., Weiskittel A., Meneghini A., MacLean D.A.

Posted: March 26, 2021 12:00:00 AM ADT

Category: Publications, Research



Abstract: Spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana; SBW) is the most destructive forest pest of northeastern Canada and United States. SBW occurrence as well as the extent and severity of its damage are highly dependent on the characteristics of the forests and the availability of host species namely, spruce (Picea sp.) and balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.). Remote sensing satellite...

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Evaluating annual spruce budworm defoliation using change detection of vegetation indices calculated from satellite hyperspectral imagery

Donovan S.D., MacLean D.A., Zhang Y., Lavigne M.B., Kershaw J.A.

Posted: March 23, 2021 12:00:00 AM ADT

Category: Publications, Research



Abstract: During spruce budworm (SBW; Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.)) outbreaks, defoliation causes severe tree damage and mortality to spruce-balsam fir (Picea spp.-Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) forests. Annual defoliation thematic maps provide vital information for forest protection planning against outbreaks, but such data are challenging to accurately collect over large areas during a short...

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Interannual variation in sap flow response in three xeric shrub species to periodic drought

Sundas Iqbal, TIanshan Zha, Xin Jia, Muhammad Hayat, Duo Qian, Charles P. A. Bourque, Yun Tian, Yujie Bai, Peng Liu, Ruizhi Yang, Alamgir Khan

Posted: March 15, 2021 12:00:00 AM ADT

Category: Publications, Research



Abstract: Extreme seasonal droughts frequently occur in semiarid and arid areas of the world. They can exert a profound influence on the physiological state of desert plants. Short-term rainfall and long-term water shortages in the Mu Us Desert have differentiated the role of individual species with their distinct ability to resist and recover from drought. This study explores how the scale of...

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Forest management impacts on stream integrity at varying intensities and spatial scales: Do abiotic effects accumulate spatially?

Erdozain M., Kidd K.A., Emilson E.J.S., Capell S.S., Kreutzweiser D.P., Gray M.A.

Posted: March 12, 2021 12:00:00 AM AST

Category: Research, Publications



Abstract: Though effects of forest harvesting on small streams are well documented, little is known about the cumulative effects in downstream systems. The hierarchical nature and longitudinal connectivity of river networks make them fundamentally cumulative, but lateral and vertical connectivity and instream processes can dissipate the downstream transport of water and materials. To elucidate...

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High risk of growth cessation of planted larch under extreme drought.

Zhang X., Li X., Manzanedo R.D., D'Orangeville L., Lv P., Wang C., Xu C., Hou M., Huang X., Rademacher T.

Posted: March 10, 2021 12:00:00 AM AST

Category: Research, Publications



Abstract: Larch trees are widely used in afforestation and timber plantations. Yet, little is known on how planted larch trees cope with increasing drought. We used a tree-ring network of 818 trees from 31 plantations spanning most of the distribution of Larix principis-rupprechtii to investigate how extreme drought influences larch radial growth in northern China. We found that summer drought,...

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Comparison between three registration methods in the case of non-georeferenced close range of multispectral images.

Fernández C. I., Haddadi, A., Leblon, B., Wang, J., Wang, K.

Posted: March 9, 2021 12:00:00 AM AST

Category: Publications, Research



Abstract: Cucumber powdery mildew, which is caused by Podosphaera xanthii, is a major disease that has a significant economic impact in cucumber greenhouse production. It is necessary to develop a non-invasive fast detection system for that disease. Such a system will use multispectral imagery acquired at a close range with a camera attached to a mobile cart’s mechanic extension....

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