[Contact Person]

Masahiro Amano
Director, Forest Resource Planning Section
Forestry & Forest Products, Research Institute
Kukisaki-cho, Ibaraki 305, Japan
Tel;+81-298-73-3211 Fax;+81-298-73-3799

Total Budget for FY1996-1998

10,896,000Yen (FY1998 4,966,000Yen)

[Key Words]

Airbome laser altimeter,stand volume,boreal forest,vegetation profile

ABSRACT:

This paper presents a new remote sensing method using airbome laser altimetry(ALA),which enables expeditious forest survey over extensive areas. The ALA provides vertical canopy profile of ground vegetation at an interval of a few centimeters horizontally along the flight tract,and its analysis yields vital statistics characterizing forest stands.In the rresent study,the ALA was used to survey the stand stocking alone a 600km long transect extending from central Alberta to northem Saskatchewan,Canada. Ground survey was also conducted along the transect for standing stock of 14 sample plots representing typical forest types encountered in the area,i.e.young mature and senescent even-abed srands of Pinus banksiana,Populus tremuloides,Picea glauca and P.mariane all regenerated after fire.The area unde the laser-based canopy profile correlated well with srand volume derived from the ground survey(γ=+0.937). Thus,using the regression of the latter upon the former,srand stocking was estimated along the full length of the transect. The results showed a distinctive transition from prairie (aspen parkland) to boreal forest at 140-km point north of Edmonton.It also showed the biomass distribution of boreal forest along the transect with a definete peak of maximum timber stocking.