Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Radiative Transfer Modeling of a Coniferous Canopy Characterized by Airborne Remote Sensing

Richard Essery Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Aberystwyth, United Kingdom

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Peter Bunting Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Aberystwyth, United Kingdom

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Aled Rowlands Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Aberystwyth, United Kingdom

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Nick Rutter Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Aberystwyth, United Kingdom

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Janet Hardy Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, New Hampshire

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Rae Melloh Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, New Hampshire

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Tim Link University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho

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Danny Marks Northwest Watershed Research Center, Boise, Idaho

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John Pomeroy Centre for Hydrology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

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Print Publication:
01 Apr 2008
Collections:
The Cold Land Processes Experiment (CLPX)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/2007JHM870.1
Page(s):
228–241
Restricted access

Abstract

Solar radiation beneath a forest canopy can have large spatial variations, but this is frequently neglected in radiative transfer models for large-scale applications. To explicitly model spatial variations in subcanopy radiation, maps of canopy structure are required. Aerial photography and airborne laser scanning are used to map tree locations, heights, and crown diameters for a lodgepole pine forest in Colorado as inputs to a spatially explicit radiative transfer model. Statistics of subcanopy radiation simulated by the model are compared with measurements from radiometer arrays, and scaling of spatial statistics with temporal averaging and array size is discussed. Efficient parameterizations for spatial averages and standard deviations of subcanopy radiation are developed using parameters that can be obtained from the model or hemispherical photography.

** Current affiliation: School of GeoSciences, Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Corresponding author address: Richard Essery, School of GeoSciences, Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, United Kingdom. Email: richard.essery@ed.ac.uk

This article included in the The Cold Land Processes Experiment (CLPX) special collection.

Abstract

Solar radiation beneath a forest canopy can have large spatial variations, but this is frequently neglected in radiative transfer models for large-scale applications. To explicitly model spatial variations in subcanopy radiation, maps of canopy structure are required. Aerial photography and airborne laser scanning are used to map tree locations, heights, and crown diameters for a lodgepole pine forest in Colorado as inputs to a spatially explicit radiative transfer model. Statistics of subcanopy radiation simulated by the model are compared with measurements from radiometer arrays, and scaling of spatial statistics with temporal averaging and array size is discussed. Efficient parameterizations for spatial averages and standard deviations of subcanopy radiation are developed using parameters that can be obtained from the model or hemispherical photography.

** Current affiliation: School of GeoSciences, Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Corresponding author address: Richard Essery, School of GeoSciences, Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, United Kingdom. Email: richard.essery@ed.ac.uk

This article included in the The Cold Land Processes Experiment (CLPX) special collection.

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