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

森林冠层群落在维持其所栖息的生态系统的多样性、恢复力和功能方面具有重要意义。随着新的获取技术对森林冠层数据的兴趣和数量的增加，生态学家需要开发工具来管理和分析他们的数据，以及一种比较不同研究数据的方法。生态学家将需要处理：1)新的数据类型，2)大量的数据，以及3)有不同研究问题的研究人员之间共享数据的必要性。该项目将汇集森林冠层研究人员（“领域科学家”）、定量科学家和计算机科学家，共同致力于建立收集、存储、显示、分析和解释与树冠和树冠有关的三维空间数据的方法。该奖项将支持以下规划活动：1)汇编一系列涉及领域科学家树冠结构的研究问题和需求；2)检查在相关领域中使用的潜在适用的信息模型和软件工具；3)针对回答林冠层研究人员提出的研究问题所需的信息和分析类型，开发概念模型和建议。预期的产品包括：领域科学家的问题和需求的规格清单；以及相关领域潜在工具的注释编译；一个信息模型将用从森林研究地点收集的数据进行测试，我们可以用大型建筑起重机进入树冠；并给出了模型的具体实现步骤和三维空间数据的采集与分析方法。该奖项由生物科学项目中的生态研究和数据库活动联合支持。

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.