Multispectral imaging of Sphagnum canopies: measuring the spectral response of three indicator species to a fluctuating water table at Burns Bog

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dc.contributor.authorElves, Andrew
dc.contributor.supervisorSchaefer, Valentin
dc.contributor.supervisorHebda, Richard Joseph
dc.date.accessioned2022-05-03T00:09:11Z
dc.date.available2022-05-03T00:09:11Z
dc.date.copyright2022en_US
dc.date.issued2022-05-02
dc.degree.departmentSchool of Environmental Studiesen_US
dc.degree.levelMaster of Science M.Sc.en_US
dc.description.abstractNorthern Canadian peatlands contain vast deposits of carbon. It is with growing urgency that we seek a better understanding of their assimilative capacity. Assimilative capacity and peat accumulation in raised bogs are linked to primary productivity of resident Sphagnum species. Understanding moisture-mediated photosynthesis of Sphagnum spp. is central to understanding peat production rates. The relationship between depth to water table fluctuation and spectral reflectance of Sphagnum moss was investigated using multispectral imaging at a recovering raised bog on the southwest coast of British Columbia, Canada. Burns Bog is a temperate oceanic ombrotrophic bog. Three ecohydrological indicator species of moss were chosen for monitoring: S. capillifolium, S. papillosum, and S. cuspidatum. Three spectral vegetation indices (SVIs) were used to characterize Sphagnum productivity: the normalized difference vegetation index 660, the chlorophyll index, and the photochemical reflectance index. In terms of spectral sensitivity and the appropriateness of SVIs to species and field setting, we found better performance for the normalized difference vegetation index 660 in the discrimination of moisture mediated species-specific reflectance signals. The role that spatiotemporal scale and spectral mixing can have on reflectance signal fidelity was tested. We were specifically interested in the relationship between changes in the local water table and Sphagnum reflectance response, and whether shifting between close spatial scales can affect the statistical strength of this relationship. We found a loss of statistical significance when shifting from the species-specific cm2 scale to the spectrally mixed dm2 scale. This spatiospectral uncoupling of the moisture mediated reflectance signal has implications for the accuracy and reliability of upscaling from plot based measurements. In terms of species-specific moisture mediated reflectance signals, we were able to effectively discriminate between the three indicator species of Sphagnum along the hummock-to-hollow gradient. We were also able to confirm Sphagnum productivity and growth outside of the vascular growing season, establishing clear patterns of reflectance correlated with changes in the local moisture regime. The strongest relationships for moisture mediated Sphagnum productivity were found in the hummock forming species S. capillifolium. Each indicator Sphagnum spp. of peat has distinct functional traits adapted to its preferred position along the ecohydrological gradient. We also discovered moisture mediated and species-specific reflectance phenologies. These phenospectral characteristics of Sphagnum can inform future monitoring work, including the creation of a regionally specific phenospectral library. It’s recommended that further close scale multispectral monitoring be carried out incorporating more species of moss, as well as invasive and upland species of concern. Pervasive vascular reflectance bias in remote sensing products has implications for the reliability of peatland modelling. Avoiding vascular bias, targeted spectral monitoring of Sphagnum indicator species provides a more reliable measure for the modelling of peatland productivity and carbon assimilation estimates.en_US
dc.description.scholarlevelGraduateen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/13939
dc.languageEnglisheng
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.rightsAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.subjectpeatlanden_US
dc.subjectpeatland restorationen_US
dc.subjectpeatland monitoringen_US
dc.subjectpeatland modellingen_US
dc.subjectpeaten_US
dc.subjectpeat mossen_US
dc.subjectmultispectralen_US
dc.subjectmultispectral imagingen_US
dc.subjectmulticamera arrayen_US
dc.subjectmultitemporalen_US
dc.subjectmultiple linear regressionen_US
dc.subjectlinear mixed effectsen_US
dc.subjectSphagnumen_US
dc.subjectsphagnaen_US
dc.subjectSphagnum capillifoliumen_US
dc.subjectSphagnum papillosumen_US
dc.subjectSphagnum cuspidatumen_US
dc.subjectspatiospectral uncouplingen_US
dc.subjectnear-sensingen_US
dc.subjectremote sensingen_US
dc.subjectphenospectralen_US
dc.subjectphenologyen_US
dc.subjectphenologiesen_US
dc.subjectphenospectral biasen_US
dc.subjectphenospectral librariesen_US
dc.subjectcarbon assimilationen_US
dc.subjectcarbon dioxideen_US
dc.subjectcarbon dynamicsen_US
dc.subjectcarbon emissionsen_US
dc.subjectcarbon geographiesen_US
dc.subjectcarbon mineralizationen_US
dc.subjectcarbon sequestrationen_US
dc.subjectcarbon sourceen_US
dc.subjectcarbon sinken_US
dc.subjectcarbon storageen_US
dc.subjectirrecoverable carbonen_US
dc.subjectclimate forcingen_US
dc.subjectmethaneen_US
dc.subjectEcological Restorationen_US
dc.subjectrestoration ecologyen_US
dc.subjectecohydrologyen_US
dc.subjectecohydrological restorationen_US
dc.subjecthydrologyen_US
dc.subjectecohydrological gradientsen_US
dc.subjectecological integrityen_US
dc.subjectreflectanceen_US
dc.subjectnature based solutionsen_US
dc.subjectombrotrophicen_US
dc.subjectmossen_US
dc.subjectraised peatlanden_US
dc.subjectmiresen_US
dc.subjectmiresen_US
dc.subjectphotochemical reflectance indexen_US
dc.subjectnormalized difference vegetation indexen_US
dc.subjectchlorophyll indexen_US
dc.subjectclimate changeen_US
dc.subjectclimate forcingen_US
dc.subjectclimate envelopeen_US
dc.subjectclimatopeen_US
dc.subjectnonvascularen_US
dc.subjectvascular biasen_US
dc.subjectplant functional typeen_US
dc.subjectplant functional typesen_US
dc.subjectstructure equation modelsen_US
dc.subjectspectral vegetation indicesen_US
dc.subjecthummocken_US
dc.subjecthollowen_US
dc.subjectacrotelmen_US
dc.subjectcatotelmen_US
dc.subjectdiplotelmicen_US
dc.subjectbiocrustsen_US
dc.subjectorganic soilen_US
dc.subjectperiodicityen_US
dc.subjectmoisture deficiten_US
dc.subjectsenescenceen_US
dc.subjectrejuvenescenceen_US
dc.subjectproductivityen_US
dc.subjectphotosynthesisen_US
dc.subjectlight use efficiencyen_US
dc.subjectphotosynthetic functionen_US
dc.subjectphotosynthetically active radiationen_US
dc.subjectwater tableen_US
dc.subjecthydrologyen_US
dc.subjectrewettingen_US
dc.subjectdepth to water tableen_US
dc.subjectlandscape changeen_US
dc.subjectlandscape degradationen_US
dc.subjectpeat subsidenceen_US
dc.subjectBurns Bogen_US
dc.titleMultispectral imaging of Sphagnum canopies: measuring the spectral response of three indicator species to a fluctuating water table at Burns Bogen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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