Acquiring airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data for the Critical Zone Observatories (CZOs) will significantly advance research, both within and across the CZOs. Uniformly acquired and processed LiDAR data would stimulate cross‐CZO activities and synthesis surrounding the terrain and canopy information obtained. As a cross-site activity for the National CZO program a LiDAR supplement from the UC Merced CZO has been requested. At the Annual National CZO Meeting, it was made clear that standardized data and ground truth protocols would need to accompany the supplement to ensure that the LiDAR data receive sufficient support to galvanize the research that will use the LiDAR products. It was determined that each local CZO team will do the vegetation ground truth for their site, following protocols developed. Each CZO, then, takes the needed field measurements and provides the data to the PI at UC Merced. The need for a RAPID proposal is that the vegetation ground truth has to be completed before the LIDAR survey in summer 2010.
This RAPID request includes the cost of two undergraduate students for three months (full time), necessary field equipment for the vegetation ground truth, and surveyor time for necessary georeference accuracy of vegetation. One graduate student (PhD level) is currently employed and will be provided by the Susquehanna/Shale Hills CZO at no charge to the request.
During the course of this award, a LiDAR data flight of the observatory was completed and a vegetation survey was conducted May through July, 2010 to validate the leaf-on LiDAR data collected in July. Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Canopy Closure (CC) were measured from April to October of 2010 at up to 70 points in the watershed about every two weeks (twice a month). At each point, LAI and CC were measured in four directions and averaged. Soil moisture was measured at many of the same points on a regular basis. LAI was measured using a LAI-2200 instrument (LI-COR Biosciences). Canopy closure was measured with a spherical densiometer, Model C Forest Densiometers). A LiDAR viewer has been created to display the data collected during the flight (http://pihm.ics.psu.edu/CZO_NOSL/Lidar.aspx). A Leaf Area Index movie was created to show changes in the capony structure during an entire growing season (2010) and is available for viewing at the bottom of the home page for the SSH CZO (www.czo.psu.edu/). The LiDAR viewer and the LAI movie were used during the 2010 STEM Field School offered to State College area high school students. The goal of this Academy was to improve the middle school to high school transition by engaging students early in their high school career with academic experiences of the highest caliber. For more information on this and other outreach activities, please visit here: www.czo.psu.edu/about%20us/ed_out.html
