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Comparison of three global canopy height maps and their applicability to biodiversity modeling: Accuracy issues revealed

Authors :
Vítězslav Moudrý
Lukáš Gábor
Suzanne Marselis
Petra Pracná
Vojtěch Barták
Jiří Prošek
Barbora Navrátilová
Jan Novotný
Markéta Potůčková
Kateřina Gdulová
Pablo Crespo‐Peremarch
Jan Komárek
Marco Malavasi
Duccio Rocchini
Luis A. Ruiz
Jesús Torralba
Michele Torresani
Roberto Cazzolla Gatti
Jan Wild
Source :
Ecosphere, Vol 15, Iss 10, Pp n/a-n/a (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
Wiley, 2024.

Abstract

Abstract Global mapping of forest height is an extremely important task for estimating habitat quality and modeling biodiversity. Recently, three global canopy height maps have been released, the global forest canopy height map (GFCH), the high‐resolution canopy height model of the Earth (HRCH), and the global map of tree canopy height (GMTCH). Here, we assessed their accuracy and usability for biodiversity modeling. We examined their accuracy by comparing them with the reference canopy height models derived from airborne laser scanning (ALS). Our results show considerable differences between the evaluated maps. The root mean square error ranged between 10 and 18 m for GFCH, 9–11 m for HRCH, and 10–17 m for GMTCH, respectively. GFCH and GMTCH consistently underestimated the height of all canopies regardless of their height, while HRCH tended to overestimate the height of low canopies and underestimate tall canopies. Biodiversity models using predicted global canopy height maps as input data are sufficient for estimating simple relationships between species occurrence and canopy height, but their use leads to a considerable decrease in the discrimination ability of the models and to mischaracterization of species niches where derived indices (e.g., canopy height heterogeneity) are concerned. We showed that canopy height heterogeneity is considerably underestimated in the evaluated global canopy height maps. We urge that for temperate areas rich in ALS data, activities should concentrate on harmonizing ALS canopy height maps rather than relying on modeled global products.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
21508925
Volume :
15
Issue :
10
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Ecosphere
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.603bc07aae44be8ab429bfd26b0bab9
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70026