@inproceedings{01J9RCXMYX1AN0W47Z5ZCJ9DGP,
  abstract     = {{European forests are undergoing large-scale changes in structure and species composition due to anthropogenic disturbances, climate change, and other canopy disturbances. Forest canopies across Europe are now opening up due to tree mortality associated with drought, pests, storms, and fire. Insights on how this will affect forest functioning are essential to understanding, predicting and managing our forests. Therefore, we want to better quantify the spatial and temporal relationships between forest structure, light and microclimate. For this purpose, we have set up a state-of-the-art edge-to-core transect in a temperate deciduous forest near Ghent (Aelmoeseneiebos, Gontrode, Belgium). The transect goes from the forest edge to 135 meters into the forest, covering both an oak-beach-dominated zone and an ash-dominated zone characterised by ash dieback. Here, we installed a spatially dense network of light and microclimate sensors every 15 meters, as well as a fiber optic sensing cable for distributed temperature sensing along the transect. The transect includes a 35 m high measuring tower, which also enables measuring light and microclimate along a vertical transect. Additionally, terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) data is collected from the transect monthly during leaf-off and leaf-on conditions. This setup will enable us to quantify the temporal and spatial variation of the microclimate and the forest structure in great detail. The continuous measurements will be complemented with campaign-based observations of (1) spectral components (reflectance, transmission & absorption) of leaves, bark and understorey using an ASD field Spectrometer to facilitate radiative transfer modelling (RTM) and (2) physiological measurements (photosynthesis, chlorophyll fluorescence, etc.) on the dominant tree species and understorey plants. In a further step of the project, we will reconstruct a 3D virtual forest (using the TLS data) that will be used as an input for radiative transfer modelling (RTM, which simulates the interaction between light and forest structure).}},
  author       = {{Terryn, Louise and Calders, Kim and De Frenne, Pieter and Kuyken, Bart and Sanczuk, Pieter and Verbeeck, Hans and Verhelst, Tom and wyffels, Francis}},
  booktitle    = {{SilviLaser Conference 2023, Abstracts}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  location     = {{London, UK}},
  title        = {{Quantifying forest structure, light, microclimate and carbon cycling in a temperate forest}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}