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Mapping shrub biomass in a boreal continental fen

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Biomass estimation is a heavily explored topic in the literature, as biomass information can provide valuable insight into understanding an ecosystem’s health. However, few studies exist on quantifying aboveground biomass (AGB) in peatlands. This thesis summarizes how allometric equations and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) can be used to map AGB across a 2-hectare peatland site. Prior to using UAVs to measure AGB, accurate field measurements are required to calibrate and validate the UAV-AGB model. We developed allometric equations for three dominant shrub genera found in boreal peatlands and found that equations based on shrub genus were not significantly different from a pooled equation of all shrub genera. The UAV study revealed that UAV-derived volume was the best predictor of AGB (R2=0.885) and was subsequently used as the dependent variable for our AGB model. This thesis reports the findings revealed through the process of estimating AGB using allometric equations and UAVs.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science (MSc)
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Geography
Grantor dc:publisher.institution
Arts
Year dc:date.issued
2019

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • He, Annie
Advisor dc:contributor.advisor
  • McDermid, Gregory J.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Post, John R.
  • Strack, Maria

Subjects

dc:subject × 6

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
Language dc:language.iso
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:ucalgary.scholaris.ca:1880/109849

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Calgary
Base URL
ucalgary.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

He, Annie. Mapping shrub biomass in a boreal continental fen. Arts, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/1880/109849