RUI: The Analysis of Three-dimensional Spatial Information of Tree and Forest Canopy Structure: A Planning Grant

森林林冠群落在维持 生态系统的多样性、弹性和功能 他们居住。 随着人们的兴趣和数量的增加， 关于新的访问所产生的森林冠层的数据 技术，生态学家需要开发工具， 管理和分析他们的数据，以及比较数据的方法 来自不同的研究。 生态学家将需要处理： 1)新的数据类型，2）更多的数据，以及3） 研究人员之间共享数据的必要性 单独的研究问题。 该项目将带来 森林林冠研究人员（“领域科学家”）， 定量科学家和计算机科学家 致力于建立收集，存储，展示， 分析和解释三维空间数据 与树冠和树冠有关。 这个奖项将 支持以下规划活动：1）编制 一系列的研究问题和需求， 结构; 2）检查潜在的 适用的信息模型和软件工具， 用于相关领域; 3）开发概念模型， 关于信息格式类型的建议 分析，以回答研究问题所提出的 森林林冠研究者 预期产品包括： 规格问题和需求领域列表 科学家;以及潜在工具的注释汇编 从相关领域;一个信息模型，将被测试 从一个森林覆盖的研究地点收集的数据， 使用大型施工起重机进入顶棚; 和一组明确的步骤来实现该模型， 生成方法来收集和分析三个- 三维空间数据该奖项是由联合 由生态研究和数据库支持， 在生物科学计划的活动。

Forest canopy communities are important in maintaining the diversity, resiliency, and functioning of the ecosystems they inhabit. With the increasing interest and amounts of data on forest canopies that are resulting from new access techniques, ecologists require the development of tools to manage and analyze their data and a means for comparing data from disparate studies. Ecologists will need to deal with: 1) new types of data, 2) a great deal more data, and 3) the necessity of sharing data among researchers who have separate research questions. The project will bring together forest canopy researchers ("domain scientist"), quantitative scientists, and computer scientists to work towards establishing methods to collect, store, display, analyze, and interpret three-dimensional spatial data relating to tree crowns and tree canopies. This award will support the following planning activities to: 1) compile an array of research questions and needs that involve canopy structure from domain scientists; 2) examine potentially applicable information models and software tools that are in used in allied fields; and 3) develop conceptual models and recommendations for the types of format of information and analyses necessary to answer research questions posed by forest canopy researchers. Anticipated products include: a specifications list of questions and needsof domain scientists; and annotated compilation of potential tools from allied fields; an information model that will be tested with data collected from a forested study site were we can gain access to the canopy with a large construction crane; and an explicit set of steps to implement the model and generate the methods to collect and analyze three- dimensional spatial data. This award is being jointly supported by the Ecological Studies and the Database Activities in the Biological Sciences programs.