Article
Forestry
Markus Hauck, Germar Csapek, Choimaa Dulamsuren
Summary: Large old trees are declining worldwide, but they are important for biodiversity and carbon stocks. The decay inside the trunk and tree cavities only overestimated stand biomass by about 1%. The 11% largest trees accounted for 50% of the aboveground biomass.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Van R. Kane, Bryce N. Bartl-Geller, Gina R. Cova, Caden P. Chamberlain, Liz van Wagtendonk, Malcolm P. North
Summary: Large trees are crucial for Sierra Nevada forests due to their ecological functions, habitat, and carbon storage. The current frequency and distribution of large trees are important for understanding their ecological contribution and management needs. Airborne lidar was used to assess the large trees in three landscapes, and the results showed that large tree density was generally low in most areas. The large and very large trees were found to be spatially aggregated in dense patches covering a significant portion of the landscape.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lv Zhou, Xuejian Li, Bo Zhang, Jie Xuan, Yulin Gong, Cheng Tan, Huaguo Huang, Huaqiang Du
Summary: In this study, a new method was developed to accurately calculate the 3D green volume of single trees from unmanned aerial vehicle laser scanner data, and compared with traditional algorithms, showing higher accuracy. The voxel coupling convex hull by slices algorithm can effectively improve the estimation accuracy of aboveground biomass (AGB) by considering 3D green volume.
Article
Forestry
Michael S. Watt, Mark O. Kimberley
Summary: Accurate spatial characterisation of plantation carbon is important for offsetting emissions and fair payment for carbon. This study developed national surfaces for carbon sequestration in New Zealand, comparing redwood and radiata pine. It found that redwood has higher carbon sequestration potential and is suitable for afforestation in suitable sites within New Zealand.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Olga Cholewinska, Andrzej Keczynski, Barbara Kusinska, Bogdan Jaroszewicz
Summary: The study found that the species of large trees have a significant impact on the diversity, distance, and frequency of adjacent trees, and as the diameter of the large tree increases, the distance between neighboring trees and the large tree also increases.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Mingxing Jing, Wensheng Wang, Yiyang Fu, Yu Yang, Wenlong Song, Zhuangzhi Sun
Summary: In this study, a waste biomass-derived solar evaporator (Le/CNTs-corn stalk) with a natural 3D honeycomb structure and sustainable salt-resistance was developed for efficient desalination and potential electricity generation. The 3D light-absorbing nanostructure greatly increased the light transmission distance, resulting in significant improvements in light absorption and photothermal conversion efficiency. The evaporator also exhibited spontaneous salt exchange capability and prevention of salt accumulation, allowing for effective evaporation even in high salt solutions. Additionally, the inserted carbon nanotubes enabled promising electricity generation potential. This work provides a sustainable strategy for efficient water production and simultaneous electricity generation using solar energy and biomass resources.
Article
Forestry
Zuoqiang Yuan, Arshad Ali, Anvar Sanaei, Paloma Ruiz-Benito, Tommaso Jucker, Lei Fang, Edith Bai, Ji Ye, Fei Lin, Shuai Fang, Zhanqing Hao, Xugao Wang
Summary: Large trees play a crucial role in shaping forest above-ground biomass dynamics, driving AGB stock and changes more effectively than species diversity and trait composition in temperate forests. Disturbed forests show higher AGB gain and lower AGB loss compared to old-growth forests, with the largest trees being consistently vital for explaining AGB stock, gain, and loss. Elevation-related topographic factors play a more direct role in determining forest AGB accumulation than soil nutrients, impacting the dominance of resource-conservative trees and influencing the presence of top 1% large trees.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Statistics & Probability
Gabriel Hassler, Max R. Tolkoff, William L. Allen, Lam Si Tung Ho, Philippe Lemey, Marc A. Suchard
Summary: Comparative biologists are interested in inferring covariation between multiple biological traits in related taxa. To avoid spurious inference, controlling for shared evolutionary history is necessary. A proposed inference technique integrates missing measurements analytically and scales linearly with the number of taxa, improving computational efficiency by orders-of-magnitude.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN STATISTICAL ASSOCIATION
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Binbin Ma, Li Cheng, Suo Bai, Xiaofeng Jia, Jun Ma, Jiling Zhao, Longfei Wang, Yong Qin
Summary: This study developed a new type of three-dimensional spirally coiled piezoelectric nanogenerator that can effectively convert irregular axial impact forces into uniform radial pressures, achieving large-scale mechanical energy harvesting. It not only achieves high electrical output of the piezoelectric nanogenerator, but also provides an efficient strategy for large-scale mechanical energy harvesting.
Article
Forestry
Donald L. L. Rockwood, Bijay Tamang, Martin E. F. Ellis
Summary: Field drying can reduce the storage requirements, transportation costs, and/or the cost associated with biomass drying for biochar and other products. The studies show that field drying can effectively reduce wood moisture content and improve the quality of Eucalyptus biomass.
Article
Environmental Sciences
A. Odwuor, C. C. Yanez, Y. Chen, F. M. Hopkins, A. Moreno, X. Xu, C. Czimczik, J. T. Randerson
Summary: In recent decades, there has been an increase in annual area burned in California's Sierra Nevada mountains. Researchers studied the emissions from the KNP Complex Fire in 2021 and found evidence of woody biomass and accumulated fuels contributing to high fire intensity and giant sequoia mortality.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Review
Forestry
Mingxia Yang, Xiaolu Zhou, Zelin Liu, Peng Li, Jiayi Tang, Binggeng Xie, Changhui Peng
Summary: Understanding the biomass, characteristics, and carbon sequestration of urban forests is crucial for maintaining and improving the quality of life and ensuring sustainable urban planning. This review evaluates recent developments in urban forest research methods, compares the accuracy and efficiency of different methods, and identifies emerging themes in urban forest assessment.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Sunxiang Zheng, Meiqi Yang, Xi Chen, Claire E. White, Liangbing Hu, Zhiyong Jason Ren
Summary: Inspired by natural plant transpiration, researchers designed and tested a series of scalable three-dimensional engineered trees made of natural wood for continuous water desalination. The trees utilize capillary action to lift water more than 1 foot off the ground, overcoming challenges of solar-driven water evaporation and water harvesting. The optimized spacing between the trees allows for a higher vapor generation to water transport ratio, resulting in a more efficient system. By drawing on multiple environmental energy sources, the trees can produce a high volume of freshwater.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Andrew Burt, Matheus Boni Vicari, Antonio C. L. da Costa, Ingrid Coughlin, Patrick Meir, Lucy Rowland, Mathias Disney
Summary: In this study, four large tropical rainforest trees were harvested in East Amazonia to provide ecological insights and compare non-destructive methods for estimating above-ground biomass. The use of terrestrial lidar proved to be more accurate in estimating biomass compared to traditional allometric methods, potentially reducing uncertainty in carbon cycle estimates for tropical forests.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Michael S. Watt, Mark O. Kimberley, Simon Rapley, Rob Webster
Summary: This study analyzed the growth data of planted redwood in New Zealand and found that redwood has high growth rates and volume productivity, especially under higher stand densities. Redwood's volume productivity varies in different regions, showing superiority in the North Island and slight inferiority in the South Island.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Phil Wilkes, Alvaro Lau, Mathias Disney, Kim Calders, Andrew Burt, Jose Gonzalez de Tanago, Harm Bartholomeus, Benjamin Brede, Martin Herold
REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT
(2017)
Article
Biology
M. I. Disney, M. Boni Vicari, A. Burt, K. Calders, S. L. Lewis, P. Raumonen, P. Wilkes
Article
Ecology
Matheus B. Vicari, Mathias Disney, Phil Wilkes, Andrew Burt, Kim Calders, William Woodgate
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2019)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
T. Jackson, A. Shenkin, J. Moore, A. Bunce, T. van Emmerik, B. Kane, D. Burcham, K. James, J. Selker, K. Calders, N. Origo, M. Disney, A. Burt, P. Wilkes, P. Raumonen, J. Gonzalez de Tanago Menaca, A. Lau, M. Herold, R. C. Goodman, T. Fourcaud, Y. Malhi
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY INTERFACE
(2019)
Article
Plant Sciences
Oliver Baines, Phil Wilkes, Mathias Disney
URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING
(2020)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Kim Calders, Jennifer Adams, John Armston, Harm Bartholomeus, Sebastien Bauwens, Lisa Patrick Bentley, Jerome Chave, F. Mark Danson, Miro Demol, Mathias Disney, Rachel Gaulton, Sruthi M. Krishna Moorthy, Shaun R. Levick, Ninni Saarinen, Crystal Schaaf, Atticus Stovall, Louise Terryn, Phil Wilkes, Hans Verbeeck
REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT
(2020)
Article
Optics
Jana Skirnewskaja, Yunuen Montelongo, Phil Wilkes, Timothy D. Wilkinson
Summary: A holographic automotive head-up display was developed to project 2D and 3D ultra-high definition images using LiDAR data, with reconstructions obtained by manipulating the focal distance of computer-generated holograms.
Article
Ecology
Phil Wilkes, Alexander Shenkin, Mathias Disney, Yadvinder Malhi, Lisa Patrick Bentley, Matheus Boni Vicari
Summary: Quantifying whole branch architecture is crucial for understanding tree function, but measuring small diameter branches is challenging. Methods using terrestrial laser scanning are applied to analyze tree architecture, but accurately reconstructing small diameter branches remains difficult. It is suggested that accurate reconstruction can only be achieved through harvest and measurement in controlled conditions.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Louise Terryn, Kim Calders, Harm Bartholomeus, Renee E. Bartolo, Benjamin Brede, Barbara D'hont, Mathias Disney, Martin Herold, Alvaro Lau, Alexander Shenkin, Timothy G. Whiteside, Phil Wilkes, Hans Verbeeck
Summary: Accurately quantifying tree and forest structure is crucial for understanding and monitoring the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems in a changing climate. Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) and Unoccupied Aerial Vehicle Laser Scanning (UAV-LS) have advanced the accurate measurement of forest structure. Combining TLS and UAV-LS data can further enhance the 3D structural mapping of dense tropical forests. TLS provides accurate measurements on a smaller scale, while UAV-LS provides comparable measurements on a larger scale. The fusion of TLS and UAV-LS can improve the measurement of structural metrics in these forests.
REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Kim Calders, Hans Verbeeck, Andrew Burt, Niall Origo, Joanne Nightingale, Yadvinder Malhi, Phil Wilkes, Pasi Raumonen, Robert G. H. Bunce, Mathias Disney
Summary: Accurate assessment of forest above-ground biomass is crucial for quantifying climate mitigation benefits. However, the current allometric models used for estimation are biased and result in substantial errors. Testing the underlying assumptions of these models and improving measurement methods are urgent priorities to address this issue.
ECOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS AND EVIDENCE
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Miro Demol, Phil Wilkes, Pasi Raumonen, Sruthi Krishna Moorthy, Kim Calders, Bert Gielen, Hans Verbeeck
Summary: Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is used to estimate forest wood volume through tree reconstruction from point cloud data. This study investigates the impact of uncertainties in the data and reconstruction algorithm on the accuracy of TLS-derived volume estimation. The results show that small branch diameter estimation has larger errors and tree volume is overestimated, mainly due to scanner limitations and coregistration errors.
Article
Ecology
Alexander Shenkin, Chris J. Chandler, Doreen S. Boyd, Toby Jackson, Mathias Disney, Noreen Majalap, Reuben Nilus, Giles Foody, Jamiluddin bin Jami, Glen Reynolds, Phil Wilkes, Mark E. J. Cutler, Geertje M. F. van der Heijden, David F. R. P. Burslem, David A. Coomes, Lisa Patrick Bentley, Yadvinder Malhi
FRONTIERS IN FORESTS AND GLOBAL CHANGE
(2019)
Article
Agronomy
William Woodgate, John D. Armston, Mathias Disney, Lola Suarez, Simon D. Jones, Michael J. Hill, Phil Wilkes, Mariela Soto-Berelov
AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY
(2017)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Phil Wilkes, Mathias Disney, Matheus Boni Vicari, Kim Calders, Andrew Burt
CARBON BALANCE AND MANAGEMENT
(2018)