Forest floor temperature and greenness link significantly to canopy attributes in South Africa's fragmented coastal forests.

ABSTRACT: Tropical landscapes are changing rapidly due to changes in land use and land management. Being able to predict and monitor land use change impacts on species for conservation or food security concerns requires the use of habitat quality metrics, that are consistent, can be mapped using above-ground sensor data and are relevant for species performance. Here, we focus on ground surface temperature (Thermal _ground) and ground vegetation greenness (NDVI _down) as potentially suitable metrics of habitat quality. Both have been linked to species demography and community structure in the literature. We test whether they can be measured consistently from the ground and whether they can be up-scaled indirectly using canopy structure maps (Leaf Area Index, LAI</

SUBMITTER: Pfeifer M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6330204 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature