Northern Michigan Forest Productivity Across a Complex Landscape David S. Ellsworth and Kathleen M. Bergen
Objectives: 1) Analyze spatial patterns in ecosystem productivity in a forested landscape in the Upper Great Lakes 2) Test a conceptual scheme for regulation of primary production in the region 3) Provide a baseline of conditions against which management and environmental change can be evaluated. Rationale: It’s difficult to discern how land management has affected ecosystem functioning in addition to other known factors (soils, topography, resources, etc.). We lack good tools or analytical approaches for mapping forest productivity across the landscape, yet seek to include landscapes in management plans.
Topography & Soils Resource avail.: Nutrients, water Climate Landscape ecosystem variables
Topography & Soils Resource avail.: Nutrients, water Climate Landscape ecosystem variables Leaf area index, L Species composition Canopy N% Manage-ment variables
Landsat ETM+ NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) Image with UMBS Landscape Ecosystems and forest test stand boundaries overlaid. Shows the hypothesized relationship between variation in productivity (brighter areas equal greater productivity) and landscape ecosystems. K. Bergen, Environmental Spatial Analysis Laboratory, Landscape Ecosystems and Survey plots