• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• v.1
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• pp.102-105
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• 2006

Forest canopy density is an essentially important for maintaining the diversify flora and fauna in the tropic. But, the natural and human disturbances have an influence over the inconsistency of forest canopy density. So, forest canopy density (FCD) has been threatened in the tropic since a decade. The objective of this study was to examine the dynamics change of the forest canopy density in tropical forest Chitwan, Nepal combine with field survey and remote sensing data. The field survey data of 2001 such as canopy cover percentage, dbh so on and some human disturbances were used. Similarly, Landsat TM 1988 and ETM+ 2001 have also used to predict the dynamic changes of the FCD over the period. Moreover, nonparametric Kruskal- Wallis test has performed for the validation of the results. Data analysis revealed that very few factors i.e. the number of trees, path, and fire had realized statistically significance at P=<0.05. Therefore we concluded that detail analysis could be needed incorporate with additional socioeconomic, climatic, biophysical and institutional factors for the better understanding of the forest canopy dynamic in particular location.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.327-338
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• 2000

The forest conditions of North Korea has been a great concern since it was known to be closely related to many environmental problems of the disastrous flooding, soil erosion, and food shortage. To assess the long-term changes of forest area as well as the canopy conditions, several sources of multitemporal satellite data were applied to the study area near Kaesung. KOMPSAT-1 EOC data were overlaid with 1981 topographic map showing the boundaries of forest to assess the deforestation area. Delineation of the cleared forest was performed by both visual interpretation and unsupervised classification. For analyzing the change of forest canopy condition, multiple scenes of Landsat and SPOT data were selected. After preprocessing of the multitemporal satellite data, such as image registration and normalization, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was derived as a representation of forest canopy conditions. Although the panchromatic EOC data had radiometric limitation to classify diverse cover types, they can be effectively used t detect and delineate the deforested area. The results showed that a large portion of forest land has been cleared for the urban and agricultural uses during the last twenty years. It was also found that the canopy condition of remaining forests has not been improved for the last twenty years. It was also found that the canopy condition of remaining forests has not been improved for the last twenty years. Possible causes of the deforestation and the temporal pattern of canopy conditions are discussed.

• 한국공간정보시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.257-270
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• 2005

Many studies states that improperly uprising of infrastructure may cause leading the forest degradation and canopy reduction in many tropical forest of Asian countries. Other studies revealed that habitat destruction and fragmentation, edge effects, exotic species invasions, pollution are provoked by roads. Similarly, environmental effects of road construction in forests are problematic. Similarly, many researches have been indicated that roads have a far greater impact on forests than simply allowing greater access for human use. Moreover, people using river as means of transportation hence illegal logging and felling cause canopy depletion in many countries. Therefore, it is important to comprehend the study about spatial relation of road, river and suburb followed by temporal change of forest canopy phenomena. This study also tried to examine the effect of road, river and suburb in forest canopy density change of Terai forest of Nepal from you 1988 to 2001. So, Landsat TM88, 92 and 001 and FCD (Forest Canopy Density) mapper were used to perform the spatial .elation of canopy density change. ILWIS (Integrated Land and Water Information System) which is GIS software and compatible with remote sensing data was used to execute analysis and visualize the results. Study found that influence of distance to suburb and river had statistically significance influenced in canopy change. Though road also influenced canopy density much but didn't show a statistical relation. It can be concluded from this research that understanding of spatial relation of factors respect with canopy change is quite complex phenomena unless detail analysis of surrounding environment. Hence, it is better to carry out comprehensive analysis with other additional factors such as biophysical, anthropogenic, social, and institutional factors for proper approach of their effect on canopy change.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.72-74
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• 2003

Forest canopy density is an ideal representative of the forest habitat situations. It can directly or indirectly depict the canopy structure and gap size in the forestland, thus could be applied to assessment of wildlife’s diversit y. Since population survey of vegetation and wildlife diversities is a key issue for sustainable forest ecosystem management, many research efforts have been focused on forest canopy density using multispectral data in the last two decades. Unfortunately, prediction of canopy density using large scaling remote sensing data remains a challenging issue. Due to recent advances in hyperspectral image sensors hyperspectral imagery is now available for environmental monitoring. In this paper, we conduct experiments to monitor complicated environments of forestland that can be captured by using hyperspectral imagery and further be analyzed to test a prediction model of forest canopy density. The results show that 95% of canopy density could be well described by using 2 difference vegetation indices (DVIs), which are difference of blue and green reflectances rband_100-rband_150 and difference of 2 short wave infrared reflectancse rband_406-rband_410 With the wavelengths of band no. 100, 150, 406, and 410 specified by 462.39 nm, 534.40 nm, 918.22 nm and 924.41 nm respectively.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2004.10a
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• pp.638-641
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• 2004

Returned laser pulse has certain relationship with vegetation canopy structure (canopy closure, height, LAI, biomass). This study attempts to analyze the characteristics of airborne laser scanner data over very dense forest canopy. Discrete pulse laser scanner data were obtained on April 25, 2004 along with digital aerial color imagery. Using forest stand maps, 14 sample stands of 7 species groups were selected and the elevations from the first and last laser return were compared. From the preliminary analysis, we found that the difference between the first and last return was higher with deciduous forest stand than in coniferous stand. Although difference between the first and the last laser returns often corresponds to tree height, it would not be the case for the forest site having very dense canopy structure.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.111 no.3
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• pp.435-449
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• 2022

Forest canopy height is an indispensable vertical structure parameter that can be used for understanding forest biomass and carbon storage as well as for managing a sustainable forest ecosystem. Plot-based field surveys, such as the national forest inventory, have been conducted to provide estimates of the forest canopy height. However, the comprehensive nationwide field monitoring of forest canopy height has been limited by its cost, lack of spatial coverage, and the inaccessibility of some forested areas. These issues can be addressed by remote sensing technology, which has gained popularity as a means to obtain detailed 2- and 3-dimensional measurements of the structure of the canopy at multiple scales. Here, we reviewed both international and domestic studies that have used remote sensing technology approaches to estimate the forest canopy height. We categorized and examined previous approaches as: 1) LiDAR approach, 2) Stereo or SAR image-based point clouds approach, and 3) combination approach of remote sensing data. We also reviewed upscaling approaches of utilizing remote sensing data to generate a continuous map of canopy height across large areas. Finally, we provided suggestions for further advancement of the Korean forest canopy height estimation system through the use of various remote sensing technologies.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2007.10a
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• pp.325-328
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• 2007

We discuss the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) of the forest canopy and floor separately based on airborne spectral reflectance measurements and simultaneous airborne land surface images acquired around Yakutsk, Siberia in 2000. The aerial land surface images were visually classified into four forest types: no-green canopy and snow floor (Type-1), green canopy and snow floor (Type-2), no-green canopy and no-snow floor (Type-3), and green canopy and no-snow floor (Type-4). The mean NDVI was calculated for these four types. Although Type-2 had green canopy, the NDVI was rather small (0.17) because of high reflection from the snow cover on the floor. Type-3, which had no green canopy, indicated considerably large NDVI (0.45) due to the greenness of the floor. Type-4 had the largest NDVI (0.75) because of the greenness of both the canopy and floor. These results reveal that the NDVI depends considerably on forest floor greenness and snow cover in addition to canopy greenness.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.90-97
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• 2020

Background: Natural forests are generally considered to be less prone to biological invasions than other modified ecosystems, particularly when canopy cover is high. Few decades of management of degraded forests by local communities in Nepal has increased canopy cover and altered disturbance regimes. These changes might have reduced the abundance of invasive alien plant species (IAPS) in forests. To understand the status of IAPS in such forests, we studied two community managed Shorea robusta forests (Sundari and Dhusheri) of Nawalpur district in central Nepal. In these two forests, vegetation sampling was done using circular plots 10 m radius at forest edge, gaps, and within canopy. Variation of IAPS richness and cover across these microhabitats were compared, and their variation with tree canopy cover and basal area analyzed. Result: Altogether 14 IAPS were recorded in the study forests; among them Chromolaena odorata, Ageratum houstonianum, and Lantana camara had the highest frequency. Mikania micrantha was at the early stage of colonization in Sundari Community Forest (CF) but absent in Dhuseri CF. Both IAPS cover and richness was higher at forest edge and gap than in canopy plots and both these attributes declined with increasing canopy cover and tree basal area. Conclusion: The results indicate that increase in canopy cover and closure of forest gaps through participatory management of degraded forests can prevent plant invasions and suppress the growth of previously established IAPS in Shorea robusta forests of Nepal. This is the unacknowledged benefit of participatory forest management in Nepal.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.7-10
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• 2005

Plant water deficiency during drought season causes physiological stress and can be a critical indicator of forest fire vulnerability. In this study, we attempt to analyze the spectral characteristics of water stressed vegetation by using the laboratory measurement on leaf samples and the canopy reflectance spectra extracted from satellite hyperspectral image data. Leaf-level reflectance spectra were measured by varying moisture content using a portable spectro-radiometer. Canopy reflectance spectra of sample forest stands of two primary species (pine and oak) located in central part of the Korean peninsula were extracted from EO-l Hyperion imaging spectrometer data obtained during the drought season in 2001 and the normal precipitation year in 2002. The preliminary analysis on the reflectance spectra shows that the spectral characteristics of leaf samples are not compatible with the ones obtained from canopy level. Although moisture content of vegetation can be influential to the radiant flux reflected from leaf-level, it may not be very straightforward to obtain the spectral characteristics that are directly related to the level of canopy moisture content. Canopy spectra form forest stands can be varied by structural variables (such as LAt, percent coverage, and biomass) other than canopy moisture content.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.512-514
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• 2005

Accurate DEM surface of forest floor is very important to extract any meaningful information regarding forest stand structure, such as tree heights, stand density, crown morphology, and biomass. In airborne lidar data processing, DEM data of forest floor is mostly generated by interpolating those elevation points obtained from last laser returns. In this study, we try to analyze the property of the last laser return under relatively dense forest canopy. Airborne laser data were obtained over the study area in relatively dense pine plantation forest. Two DEM data were generated by using all the points in the last laser returns and using only those points after removing non-ground points. From the preliminary analysis on these DEM data, we found that more than half of points among the last laser returns are actually hit from canopy, branches, and understory vegetation that should be removed before generating the surface DEM data.