The Hoh_ALS_sampling.R script has sampled 15m radius point clouds from the Hoh. Part of the script also contains code to process metrics but it is a bit messy. I didn't save point clouds according to wetland or upland status so the wetupl_table_for_ptclouds.csv shows which ones are which.
Point clouds are in a zipped folder called hoh_ptclouds.zip on here.
Soil saturation and inundation are key characteristics of wetlands and can promote the accumulation of soil organic carbon while inhibiting plant productivity. However, some forested wetlands can maintain high productivity, exhibiting thick closed canopies which attain significant aboveground biomass such that they are indistinguishable from the surrounding upland forest. These closed-canopy forested wetlands (CCFW) may appear similar to forested uplands but soil saturation and inundation may alter patterns of tree growth (leaf-stem ratio?, thick crowns?) through repeated stress events. This potential change in forest structure development may provide unique forest structure that improves forest structural diversity by representing important habitat niches.
CCFWs can potentially fulfill critically important conservation aspects: unique habitat, aboveground biomass carbon storage, and belowground soil carbon storage. It is imperative to assess the potential importance of CCFW ecosystems and to develop protocols for identification.
Some forests are also wetlands [cite the forested wetlands paper]. How does wetland status affect forest structure and function? Possibly, wetland forests have unique structure that increases their functional diversity and carbon sequestration.
Questions to be addressed:
- Is the forest structure of CCFW similar to upland forest?
- Does CCFW contain similar aboveground biomass compared to upland forest?
- What is the total carbon stock of CCFW compared to FW?