Ground-dwelling macrolichens dominate the forest floor of mature upland pine stands in the boreal forest. Understanding patterns of lichen abundance, as well as environmental characteristics associated with lichen growth, is key to managing lichens as a forage resource for threatened woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou). The spectral signature of light-coloured lichen distinguishes it from green vegetation, potentially allowing for mapping of lichen abundance using multi-spectral imagery, while canopy structure measured from airborne laser scanning (ALS) of forest openings can indirectly map lichen habitat. Here, we test the use of high-resolution KOMPSAT (Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite-3) imagery (280 cm resolution) and forest structural characteristics derived from ALS to predict lichen biomass in an upland jack pine forest in Northeastern Alberta, Canada. We quantified in the field lichen abundance (cover and biomass) in mature jack pine stands across low, moderate, and high canopy cover. We then used generalized linear models to relate lichen abundance to spectral data from KOMPSAT and structural metrics from ALS. Model selection suggested that lichen abundance was best predicted by canopy cover (ALS points > 1.37 m) and to a lesser extent blue spectral data from KOMPSAT. Lichen biomass was low at plots with high canopy cover (98.96 g/m²), while almost doubling for plots with low canopy cover (186.30 g/m²). Overall the model fit predicting lichen biomass was good (R² c = 0.35), with maps predicting lichen biomass from spectral and structural data illustrating strong spatial variations. High-resolution mapping of ground lichen can provide information on lichen abundance that can be of value for management of forage resources for woodland caribou. We suggest that this approach could be used to map lichen biomass for other regions.

中文翻译：

---

利用野外数据，机载激光扫描和高空间分辨率光学数据对地衣覆盖和生物量进行定量分析-以加拿大北方松树林为例

在北方森林中，居住在地面的大型地衣主导着成熟的山地松林的森林地面。了解地衣丰度的模式以及与地衣生长相关的环境特征，对于将地衣作为受威胁林地驯鹿（Rangifer tarandus驯鹿）的草料资源进行管理至关重要。）。浅色地衣的光谱特征将其与绿色植被区分开，可能允许使用多光谱图像来绘制地衣的丰度，而通过森林开口的机载激光扫描（ALS）测量的冠层结构可以间接绘制地衣栖息地的地图。在这里，我们测试了高分辨率KOMPSAT（韩国多用途卫星3）影像（280厘米分辨率）和从ALS得出的森林结构特征在加拿大艾伯塔省东北部的山地千斤松森林中预测地衣生物量的能力。我们在田间低，中和高冠层覆盖的成熟杰克松林中对地衣的丰度（覆盖和生物量）进行了量化。然后，我们使用广义线性模型将地衣丰度与KOMPSAT的光谱数据和ALS的结构指标相关联。模型的选择表明，地衣覆盖（ALS点> 1.37 m）和来自KOMPSAT的蓝色光谱数据在较小程度上可以最好地预测地衣的丰度。在高冠层覆盖的地块上，地衣生物量较低（98.96 g / m²），而对于低冠层覆盖（186.30 g / m ²）的地块，几乎增加了一倍。总体而言，预测地衣生物量的模型拟合良好（R ² c = 0.35），而根据光谱和结构数据预测地衣生物量的地图说明了强烈的空间变化。地面地衣的高分辨率制图可以提供有关地衣丰度的信息，这对于管理林地驯鹿的饲草资源可能具有价值。我们建议该方法可用于绘制其他地区的地衣生物量。