Changes in large-scale vegetation structure triggered by processes such as deforestation, wildfires, and tree die-off alter surface structure, energy balance, and associated albedo-all critical for land surface models. Characterizing these properties usually requires long-term data, precluding characterization of rapid vegetation changes such as those increasingly occurring in the Anthropocene. Consequently, the characterization of rapid events is limited and only possible in a few specific areas. We use a campaign approach to characterize surface properties associated with vegetation structure. In our approach, a profiling LiDAR and hemispherical image analyses quantify vegetation structure and a portable mast instrumented with a net radiometer, wind-humidity-temperature stations in a vertical profile, and soil temperature-heat flux characterize surface properties. We illustrate the application of our approach in two forest types (boreal and semiarid) with disturbance-induced tree loss. Our prototype characterizes major structural changes associated with tree loss, changes in vertical wind profiles, surface roughness energy balance partitioning, a proxy for NDVI (Normalized Differential Vegetation Index), and albedo. Multi-day albedo estimates, which differed between control and disturbed areas, were similar to tower-based multiyear characterizations, highlighting the utility and potential of the campaign approach. Our prototype provides general characterization of surface and boundary-layer properties relevant for land surface models, strategically enabling preliminary characterization of rapid vegetation disturbance events.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/623209 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Villegas, Juan Camilo, Law, Darin J., Stark, Scott C., Minor, David M., Breshears, David D., Saleska, Scott R., Swann, Abigail L. S., Garcia, Elizabeth S., Bella, Elizabeth M., Morton, John M., Cobb, Neil S., Barron-Gafford, Greg A., Litvak, Marcy E., Kolb, Thomas E. |
| Contributors | Univ Arizona, Sch Nat Resources & Environm, Grupo GIGA, Escuela Ambiental; Universidad de Antioquia; Apartado Aéreo 1226 Medellín Colombia, School of Natural Resources and the Environment; University of Arizona; Tucson Arizona 85721 USA, Department of Forestry; Michigan State University; East Lansing Michigan 48824 USA, Department of Forestry; Michigan State University; East Lansing Michigan 48824 USA, School of Natural Resources and the Environment; University of Arizona; Tucson Arizona 85721 USA, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of Arizona; Tucson Arizona 85721 USA, Department of Biology; University of Washington; Seattle Washington 98195 USA, Department of Atmospheric Sciences; University of Washington; Seattle Washington 98195 USA, AECOM; Anchorage Alaska 99501 USA, Kenai National Wildlife Refuge; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Soldotna Alaska 99669 USA, Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research; Northern Arizona University; Flagstaff Arizona 86011 USA, School of Geography and Regional Development; University of Arizona; Tucson Arizona 85721 USA, Department of Biology; University of New Mexico; Albuquerque New Mexico 87131 USA, Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research; Northern Arizona University; Flagstaff Arizona 86011 USA |
| Publisher | WILEY |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Article |
| Rights | © 2017 Villegas et al. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. |
| Relation | http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/ecs2.1698 |
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