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Drone-derived canopy height predicts biomass across non-forest ecosystems globally

View ORCID ProfileA.M. Cunliffe, View ORCID ProfileK. Anderson, View ORCID ProfileF. Boschetti, View ORCID ProfileR.E. Brazier, View ORCID ProfileH.A. Graham, View ORCID ProfileI.H. Myers-Smith, View ORCID ProfileT. Astor, View ORCID ProfileM.M. Boer, View ORCID ProfileL. Calvo, View ORCID ProfileP.E. Clark, View ORCID ProfileM.D. Cramer, View ORCID ProfileM.S. Encinas-Lara, View ORCID ProfileS.M. Escarzaga, View ORCID ProfileJ.M. Fernández-Guisuraga, View ORCID ProfileA.G. Fisher, View ORCID ProfileK. Gdulová, View ORCID ProfileB.M. Gillespie, View ORCID ProfileA. Griebel, View ORCID ProfileN.P. Hanan, View ORCID ProfileM.S. Hanggito, View ORCID ProfileS. Haselberger, View ORCID ProfileC.A. Havrilla, View ORCID ProfileP. Heilman, View ORCID ProfileW. Ji, View ORCID ProfileJ.W. Karl, View ORCID ProfileM. Kirchhoff, View ORCID ProfileS. Kraushaar, View ORCID ProfileM.B. Lyons, View ORCID ProfileI. Marzolff, View ORCID ProfileM.E. Mauritz, View ORCID ProfileC.D. McIntire, View ORCID ProfileD. Metzen, View ORCID ProfileL.A. Méndez-Barroso, View ORCID ProfileS.C. Power, View ORCID ProfileJ. Prošek, View ORCID ProfileE. Sanz-Ablanedo, View ORCID ProfileK.J. Sauer, View ORCID ProfileD. Schulze-Brüninghoff, View ORCID ProfileP. Šímová, View ORCID ProfileS. Sitch, View ORCID ProfileJ.L. Smit, View ORCID ProfileC.M. Steele, View ORCID ProfileS. Suárez-Seoane, View ORCID ProfileS.A. Vargas, View ORCID ProfileM.L. Villarreal, View ORCID ProfileF. Visser, View ORCID ProfileM. Wachendorf, View ORCID ProfileH. Wirnsberger, View ORCID ProfileR. Wojcikiewicz
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.16.206011
A.M. Cunliffe
1Department of Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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  • For correspondence: a.cunliffe@exeter.ac.uk
K. Anderson
2Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
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F. Boschetti
1Department of Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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R.E. Brazier
1Department of Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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H.A. Graham
1Department of Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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I.H. Myers-Smith
3School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, UK
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T. Astor
4Grassland Science and Renewable Plant Resources, Organic Agricultural Sciences, Universität Kassel, D-37213 Witzenhausen, Germany
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M.M. Boer
5Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
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L. Calvo
6Biodiversity and Environmental Management Department, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of León, León, Spain
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P.E. Clark
7Northwest Watershed Research Center, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Boise, Idaho, USA
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M.D. Cramer
8Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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M.S. Encinas-Lara
9Department of Environmental and Water Sciences, Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico
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S.M. Escarzaga
10University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, USA
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J.M. Fernández-Guisuraga
6Biodiversity and Environmental Management Department, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of León, León, Spain
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A.G. Fisher
11Joint Remote Sensing Research Program, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
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K. Gdulová
12Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha - Suchdol, 165 00, Czechia
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B.M. Gillespie
13Biology Department, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA
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A. Griebel
5Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
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N.P. Hanan
14New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA
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M.S. Hanggito
10University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, USA
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S. Haselberger
15Department of Geography and Regional Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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C.A. Havrilla
16Northern Arizona University, Arizona, USA
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P. Heilman
17USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Southwest Watershed Research Center, Tucson, AZ, USA
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W. Ji
14New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA
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J.W. Karl
18University of Idaho, Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences, Idaho, USA
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M. Kirchhoff
19Department of Physical Geography, Trier University, Germany
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S. Kraushaar
15Department of Geography and Regional Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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M.B. Lyons
20School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Australia
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I. Marzolff
21Department of Physical Geography, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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M.E. Mauritz
10University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, USA
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C.D. McIntire
22Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
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D. Metzen
5Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
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L.A. Méndez-Barroso
9Department of Environmental and Water Sciences, Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico
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S.C. Power
8Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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J. Prošek
12Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha - Suchdol, 165 00, Czechia
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E. Sanz-Ablanedo
23Grupo de Investigación en Geomática e Ingeniería Cartográfica (GEOINCA), University of León, Ponferrada, Spain
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K.J. Sauer
24Department of Natural Resources, Sul Ross State University, Alpine, Texas, USA
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D. Schulze-Brüninghoff
4Grassland Science and Renewable Plant Resources, Organic Agricultural Sciences, Universität Kassel, D-37213 Witzenhausen, Germany
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P. Šímová
12Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha - Suchdol, 165 00, Czechia
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S. Sitch
1Department of Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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J.L. Smit
25Geomatics Division, School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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C.M. Steele
14New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA
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S. Suárez-Seoane
26Department of Organisms and Systems Biology (Ecology Unit) and Research Unit of Biodiversity (UO-CSIC-PA), University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Mieres, Spain
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S.A. Vargas
10University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, USA
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M.L. Villarreal
27U.S. Geological Survey, Western Geographic Science Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
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F. Visser
28School of Science and the Environment, University of Worcester, Worcester, UK
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M. Wachendorf
4Grassland Science and Renewable Plant Resources, Organic Agricultural Sciences, Universität Kassel, D-37213 Witzenhausen, Germany
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H. Wirnsberger
15Department of Geography and Regional Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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R. Wojcikiewicz
14New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA
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  • ORCID record for R. Wojcikiewicz
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Abstract

Non-forest ecosystems, dominated by shrubs, grasses and herbaceous plants, provide ecosystem services including carbon sequestration and forage for grazing, yet are highly sensitive to climatic changes. Yet these ecosystems are poorly represented in remotely-sensed biomass products and are undersampled by in-situ monitoring. Current global change threats emphasise the need for new tools to capture biomass change in non-forest ecosystems at appropriate scales. Here we assess whether canopy height inferred from drone photogrammetry allows the estimation of aboveground biomass (AGB) across low-stature plant species sampled through a global site network. We found mean canopy height is strongly predictive of AGB across species, demonstrating standardised photogrammetric approaches are generalisable across growth forms and environmental settings. Biomass per-unit-of-height was similar within, but different among, plant functional types. We find drone-based photogrammetry allows for monitoring of AGB across large spatial extents and can advance understanding of understudied and vulnerable non-forested ecosystems across the globe.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC 4.0 International license.
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Drone-derived canopy height predicts biomass across non-forest ecosystems globally
A.M. Cunliffe, K. Anderson, F. Boschetti, R.E. Brazier, H.A. Graham, I.H. Myers-Smith, T. Astor, M.M. Boer, L. Calvo, P.E. Clark, M.D. Cramer, M.S. Encinas-Lara, S.M. Escarzaga, J.M. Fernández-Guisuraga, A.G. Fisher, K. Gdulová, B.M. Gillespie, A. Griebel, N.P. Hanan, M.S. Hanggito, S. Haselberger, C.A. Havrilla, P. Heilman, W. Ji, J.W. Karl, M. Kirchhoff, S. Kraushaar, M.B. Lyons, I. Marzolff, M.E. Mauritz, C.D. McIntire, D. Metzen, L.A. Méndez-Barroso, S.C. Power, J. Prošek, E. Sanz-Ablanedo, K.J. Sauer, D. Schulze-Brüninghoff, P. Šímová, S. Sitch, J.L. Smit, C.M. Steele, S. Suárez-Seoane, S.A. Vargas, M.L. Villarreal, F. Visser, M. Wachendorf, H. Wirnsberger, R. Wojcikiewicz
bioRxiv 2020.07.16.206011; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.16.206011
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Drone-derived canopy height predicts biomass across non-forest ecosystems globally
A.M. Cunliffe, K. Anderson, F. Boschetti, R.E. Brazier, H.A. Graham, I.H. Myers-Smith, T. Astor, M.M. Boer, L. Calvo, P.E. Clark, M.D. Cramer, M.S. Encinas-Lara, S.M. Escarzaga, J.M. Fernández-Guisuraga, A.G. Fisher, K. Gdulová, B.M. Gillespie, A. Griebel, N.P. Hanan, M.S. Hanggito, S. Haselberger, C.A. Havrilla, P. Heilman, W. Ji, J.W. Karl, M. Kirchhoff, S. Kraushaar, M.B. Lyons, I. Marzolff, M.E. Mauritz, C.D. McIntire, D. Metzen, L.A. Méndez-Barroso, S.C. Power, J. Prošek, E. Sanz-Ablanedo, K.J. Sauer, D. Schulze-Brüninghoff, P. Šímová, S. Sitch, J.L. Smit, C.M. Steele, S. Suárez-Seoane, S.A. Vargas, M.L. Villarreal, F. Visser, M. Wachendorf, H. Wirnsberger, R. Wojcikiewicz
bioRxiv 2020.07.16.206011; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.16.206011

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