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Harvard Forest REU Symposium Abstract 2013
- Title: Expanding the Boundaries of Data Collection: Construction and Application of an Aerial Tram at the Harvard Forest
- Author: Faith C Neff (Humboldt State University)
- Abstract:
Forests are the largest terrestrial carbon pool on earth. As such, they play a critical role in carbon dioxide sequestration as well as provide basic ecosystem services such as wildlife habitat, biodiversity and water quality. The behavior of forests in change, for example post clear-cut, is incompletely understood due to limitations in time, resources, and means of data collection. Our group sought to better study forest growth, CO2 output, light emission and absorption, and vegetation stress in this situation, using an aerial tram with multiple sensors suspended over a previously clear-cut forest. In order to achieve this goal, we implemented the physical construction of the tram and supporting towers, the programming of its sensors and motor, and subsequent data collection. The tram was constructed, and its motor function and ecological sensors were programmed using LabVIEW, a programming language well suited for controlling the motor and sensors. For my project in particular, I sought to test the hypothesis that normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) calculated using spectral reflectance sensors was within a reasonable margin of the NDVI obtained with a hyperspectral imager. This is an important component in the overall development and validation of the tram system as a whole. Results will be shown on the relationship between the spectral reflectance and hyperspectral data, as well as other aspects of the data collection system.
- Research Category: Group Projects; Watershed Ecology
