Accuracy and Precision of Two Indirect Methods for Estimating Canopy Fuels

TL;DRAbstract

We compared the accuracy and precision of digital hemispherical photography and the LI-COR LAI-2000 plant canopy analyzer as predictors of canopy fuels. We collected data on 12 plots in western Montana under a variety of lighting and sky conditions, and used a variety of processing methods to compute estimates. Repeated measurements from each method displayed considerable variability, but hemispherical photography proved to be the more precise method. To evaluate the accuracy of the different methods, we correlated measurements with allometrically derived estimates of canopy bulk density and available canopy fuel. Measurements from both methods were more highly correlated with available canopy fuel than canopy bulk density. Hemispherical photography emerged as the superior methodology, displaying greater precision and accuracy, at least when measurements must be collected under sub-par lighting conditions.

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