Crown Geometry Measurements of 14 Species in the CTFS-ForestGEO Plot at Harvard Forest 2013

Tree crown geometry and height, especially when coupled with remotely sensed data, can aid in the characterization of tree and forest structure. In this study, we collected crown geometry data (tree height, crown radius, and crown depth) in order to develop mixed-effects model allometric equations. We leveraged the already existing Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS) and Smithsonian Institute’s Forest Global Earth Observatory (ForestGEO) MegaPlot on Prospect Hill at Harvard Forest, Massachusetts to apply allometric equations. In total, we sampled 374 trees across 14 species. Developed allometry was applied to 2014 CTFS-ForestGEO census data to develop allometric canopy height models, which were compared to a lidar canopy height model acquired by NASA’s G-LiHT.