Savannas’ defining feature is a scattered tree layer. However, woody plants have encroached savannas throughout the world, altering tree densities and potentially modifying regeneration dynamics. We used a replicated large-scale restoration experiment with Midwestern oak savannas (USA) to understand spatial patterns of regeneration by the dominant overstory species, Quercus alba. Q. alba is not...

Leaf area is an important plant canopy structure parameter with important ecological significance. Light detection and ranging technology (LiDAR) with the application of a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) is an appealing method for accurately estimating leaf area; however, the actual utility of this scanner depends largely on the efficacy of point cloud data (PCD) analysis. In this paper, we pre...

The development of a dense tree layer in young coniferous stands can suppress understory plants, leading to very low herb abundance and diversity. In this study, clonal development of the rhizomatous herb Maianthemum dilatatum (Wood) Nels & Macbr. was compared among four types of coniferous forest (young, closed canopy; young, silviculturally thinned; mature; and old growth) on the western Olym...

This paper describes the development of a simple quasi-2D Eulerian atmospheric dispersion model that accounts for dry deposition of fugitive dust onto vegetation and buildings. The focus of this work is on the effects of atmospheric surface layer parameterizations on deposition in the “impact zone” near unpaved roads where horizontal advection of a dust cloud through roughness is important. A w...

Airborne LiDAR point cloud of a forest contains three dimensional data, from which vertical stand structure (including information about under-story trees) can be derived. This paper presents a segmentation approach for multi-story stands that strips the point cloud to its canopy layers, identifies individual tree segments within each layer using a DSM-based tree identification method as a buil...

Flow hindrance by salt-marsh vegetation is manifested in the structure of the tidal current; it has a significant impact on sediment transport and causes increased sediment accretion. The flow characteristics in 3 different vegetation types (Spartina maritima, Sp. anglica and Salicornia/Suaeda maritima) were measured on 3 salt-marshes in Portugal and England. Skimming flow develops above the Sp...

A land surface model (LSM), minimal advanced treatments of surface interaction and runoff (MATSIRO), has been developed for climate studies at the global and regional scales. The canopy has a single layer, whose albedo and bulk coefficients are evaluated on the basis of a multilayer canopy model. The fluxes are calculated from the energy balance at the ground and canopy surfaces in snow-free an...