Accuracy of the MacArthur-Horn method for estimating a foliage profile

To estimate three-dimensional distribution of foliage which affects microclimate in forests and habitat structure of biotic community, we examined the accuracy of the MacArthur-Horn method at various sampling scales and points in a deciduous broad-leaved forest by using a large scaffolding and direct observation. The coefficient of determination of the relationships between estimates and observed values decreased with increasing complexity of foliage profile. The accuracy of estimating the foliage distribution did not change with the sampling scale when the total number of sampling points was constant at 64 points. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the number of sampling points according to the sampling scale in a forest where foliage height diversity is high. On the other hand, the accuracy increased asymptotically with increasing sampling scale when the number of sampling points per unit area was keep constant (ca. 64 points per 1.8 m × 1.8 m). We can get a suitable sampling area which the accuracy of estimates remains constant. The minimum scale for estimating correct foliage profile was about 80 m2, and its coefficient of determination was 0.855. Therefore, we will be able to estimate three-dimensional foliage distribution of individual trees or species and the heterogeneity of the foliage profile at any scales in accordance with the aims of study if we design the sampling points and the size of sampling scale into consideration.

[1]  K. Kikuzawa.  Leaf survival of woody plants in deciduous broad-leaved forests. 1. Tall trees , 1983 .

[2]  P. B. Tomlinson,et al.  Tropical Trees as Living Systems. , 1980 .

[3]  R. Oldeman,et al.  Architecture and energy exchange of dicotyledonous trees in the forest , 1978 .

[4]  T. Kira,et al.  Structure of forest canopies as related to their primary productivity , 1969 .

[5]  John D. Aber,et al.  FOLIAGE-HEIGHT PROFILES AND SUCCESSION IN NORTHERN HARDWOOD FORESTS' , 1979 .

[6]  S. T. Gower,et al.  Vertical variation in canopy structure and CO(2) exchange of oak-maple forests: influence of ozone, nitrogen, and other factors on simulated canopy carbon gain. , 1990, Tree physiology.

[7]  M. Huston,et al.  A comparison of direct and indirect methods for estimating forest canopy leaf area , 1991 .

[8]  Takao Fujimori,et al.  Crown and Canopy Structure in Relation to Productivity. , 1987 .

[9]  M. Scholl,et al.  A quantitative description of a deciduous forest canopy using a photographic technique. , 1990 .

[10]  R. Macarthur,et al.  Foliage Profile by Vertical Measurements , 1969 .

[11]  J. Norman,et al.  Instrument for Indirect Measurement of Canopy Architecture , 1991 .

[12]  R. Macarthur,et al.  On Bird Species Diversity , 1961 .

[13]  Etsushi Kato,et al.  Stand structure of a deciduous broad-leaved forest in Tomakomai experimental forest, based on a large-plot data , 1998 .

[14]  T. Kira,et al.  VERTICAL STRATIFICATION IN MICROCLIMATE , 1989 .

[15]  Growth of Tree Species in a Broadleaved Secondary Forest as Related to the Light Environments of Crowns , 1993 .

[16]  John D. Aber,et al.  A Method for Estimating Foliage-Height Profiles in Broad-Leaved Forests , 1979 .

[17]  M. Lowman,et al.  Herbivory as a canopy process in rain forest trees. , 1995 .

[18]  Graham Russell,et al.  Plant Canopies: Their Growth, Form and Function: Contents , 1989 .

[19]  Fumito Koike,et al.  Reconstruction of two-dimensional tree and forest canopy profiles using photographs. , 1985 .

[20]  David R. Miller,et al.  Vertical distributions of canopy foliage and biologically active radiation in a defoliated/refoliated hardwood forest , 1993 .

[21]  T. Whitmore,et al.  Tropical rain forest: ecology and management. , 1984 .

[22]  G. Parker,et al.  Structure and microclimate of forest canopies. , 1995 .

[23]  H. S. Horn.  The adaptive geometry of trees , 1971 .

[24]  J. M. Norman,et al.  Plant Canopies: Their Growth, Form and Function: The description and measurement of plant canopy structure , 1989 .

[25]  A. Osawa,et al.  A light-weight CCD camera technique for estimating three-dimensional distribution of foliage density in tree crowns , 1997 .