Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-6-2023

Department

College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science

Abstract

The measurement of forest structure has evolved steadily due to advances in technology, methodology, and theory. Such advances have greatly increased our capacity to describe key forest structural elements and resulted in a range of measurement approaches from traditional analog tools such as measurement tapes to highly derived and computationally intensive methods such as advanced remote sensing tools (e.g., lidar, radar). This assortment of measurement approaches results in structural metrics unique to each method, with the caveat that metrics may be biased or constrained by the measurement approach taken. While forest structural diversity (FSD) metrics foster novel research opportunities, understanding how they are measured or derived, limitations of the measurement approach taken, as well as their biological interpretation is crucial for proper application. We review the measurement of forest structure and structural diversity—an umbrella term that includes quantification of the distribution of functional and biotic components of forests. We consider how and where these approaches can be used, the role of technology in measuring structure, how measurement impacts extend beyond research, and current limitations and potential opportunities for future research.

Publisher's Statement

© 2023 The Authors. Ecosphere published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Ecological Society of America. Publisher’s version of record: https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4633

Publication Title

Ecosphere

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Version

Publisher's PDF

Download

Share

COinS