Abstract
ABSTRACT The precision forest management technique still has much to be improved with the incorporation of forest biometric techniques and forest profiling with airborne LIDAR. When planning the cutting of a tree in forest management, the volume to be produced for industry is estimated but not the area impacted by removal of the tree. The objective of the present study was to develop equations for the Amazon rainforest that are able to estimate the impact area of gaps from harvesting individual dominant and co-dominant trees based on the canopy morphology obtained through forest profiling. On two separate occasions profiles were made in an annual forest-production unit in the Antimary State Forest (FEA) in the state of Acre, Brazil. The first was done a few days before the start of logging in 2010 and the second was done after completion of harvest activities in 2011. With field measurements and processing of the cloud of LIDAR points, dendrometric and morphometric variables were obtained for the canopy in order to develop equations for estimating gap areas. After evaluation of the explanatory variables with the highest correlation with gap area, the method used considered all possible models and included 2-4 parameters. The explanatory variables that best represent the impact of clearings are volume of the crown (VCop) and crown-projection area (APC). Ten equations were selected, of which two were chosen for use; these had R2 aj > 75% and Syx <23%. The good fit of the equations demonstrates the potential use of LIDAR to obtain information for estimating in advance the gaps in the forest cover that will be created from harvesting trees of different sizes.
Highlights
Logging in forest management was considered for many years to be a precursor of inevitable impacts on the remnant forest
The values of volume de copa (VCop), mantle of the crown (MC), a área de projeção da copa (APC) and diameter of the crown (DC) tended to increase as the area of the gap increased
It is expected that the more routine use of LIDAR in forest planning will extend the possibility of studies for prediction of negative and positive impacts of gaps in the field of forest management. Regardless of their size, gaps from selective logging are identified by profiling with airborne LIDAR
Summary
Logging in forest management was considered for many years to be a precursor of inevitable impacts on the remnant forest. This view was due to the paucity of studies and due to use of inappropriate techniques and equipment. Natural forests are normally in a stable situation (Odum, 1988), with low annual increment. This situation is changed only when the forests suffer an impact, such as forest harvesting. When this occurs, a larger annual growth increment can be stimulated in the species of interest. One must know the location and size of the possible new light gaps
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