Above ground biomass (AGB) is a parameter commonly used for assessment of grassland systems. Destructive AGB measurements, although accurate, are time consuming and are not easily undertaken on a repeat basis or over large areas. Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry and Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) are two technologies that have the potential to yield precise 3D structural measurements of vegetation quite rapidly. Recent advances have led to the successful application of TLS and SfM in woody biomass estimation, but application in natural grassland systems remains largely untested. The potential of these techniques for AGB estimation is examined considering 11 grass plots with a range of biomass in South Dakota, USA. Volume metrics extracted from the TLS and SfM 3D point clouds, and also conventional disc pasture meter settling heights, were compared to destructively harvested AGB total (grass and litter) and AGB grass plot measurements. Although the disc pasture meter was the most rapid method, it was less effective in AGB estimation (AGB_grass r² = 0.42, AGB_total r² = 0.32) than the TLS (AGB_grass r² = 0.46, AGB_total r² = 0.57) or SfM (AGB_grass r² = 0.54, AGB_total r² = 0.72) which both demonstrated their utility for rapid AGB estimation of grass systems.

The hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA; Adelges tsugae) is an invasive insect infestation that is spreading into the forests of the northeastern United States, driven by the warmer winter temperatures associated with climate change. The initial stages of this disturbance are difficult to detect with passive optical remote sensing, since the insect often causes its host species, eastern hemlock trees (Tsuga canadensis), to defoliate in the midstory and understory before showing impacts in the overstory. New active remote sensing technologies—such as the recently launched NASA Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) spaceborne lidar—can address this limitation by penetrating canopy gaps and recording lower canopy structural changes. This study explores new opportunities for monitoring the HWA infestation with airborne lidar scanning (ALS) and GEDI spaceborne lidar data. GEDI waveforms were simulated using airborne lidar datasets from an HWA-infested forest plot at the Harvard Forest ForestGEO site in central Massachusetts. Two airborne lidar instruments, the NASA G-LiHT and the NEON AOP, overflew the site in 2012 and 2016. GEDI waveforms were simulated from each airborne lidar dataset, and the change in waveform metrics from 2012 to 2016 was compared to field-derived hemlock mortality at the ForestGEO site. Hemlock plots were shown to be undergoing dynamic changes as a result of the HWA infestation, losing substantial plant area in the middle canopy, while still growing in the upper canopy. Changes in midstory plant area (PAI 11–12 m above ground) and overall canopy permeability (indicated by RH10) accounted for 60% of the variation in hemlock mortality in a logistic regression model. The robustness of these structure-condition relationships held even when simulated waveforms were treated as real GEDI data with added noise and sparse spatial coverage. These results show promise for future disturbance monitoring studies with ALS and GEDI lidar data.

Solar induced fluorescence (SIF) is an ecological variable of interest to remote sensing retrievals, as it is directly related to vegetation composition and condition. FIREFLY (fluorescence imaging of red and far-red light yield) is a high performance spectrometer for estimating SIF. FIREFLY was flown in conjunction with NASA Goddard’s lidar, hyperspectral, and thermal (G-LiHT) instrument package in 2017, as a technology demonstration for airborne retrievals of SIF. Attributes of FIREFLY relevant to SIF retrieval, including detector response and linearity; full-width at half maximum (FWHM); stray light; dark current; and shot noise were characterized with a combination of observations from Goddard’s laser for absolute measurement of radiance calibration facility; an integrating sphere; controlled acquisitions of known targets; in-flight acquisitions; and forward modelling. FWHM, stray light, and dark current were found to be of acceptable magnitude, and characterized to within acceptable limits for SIF retrieval. FIREFLY observations were found to represent oxygen absorption features, along with a large number of solar absorption features. Shot noise was acceptable for direct SIF retrievals at native resolution, but indirect SIF retrievals from absorption features would require spatial aggregation, or repeated observations of targets.

Airborne lidar can observe saltmarshes on a regional scale, targeting phenological and tidal states to provide the information to more effectively utilize frequent multispectral satellite observations to monitor change. Airborne lidar observations from NASA Goddard Lidar Hyperspectral and Thermal (G-LiHT) of a well-studied region of saltmarsh (Plum Island, Massachusetts, United States) were acquired in multiple years (2014, 2015 and 2016). These airborne lidar data provide characterizations of important saltmarsh components, as well as specifications for effective surveys. The invasive Phragmites australis was observed to increase in extent from 8374 m² in 2014, to 8882 m² in 2015 (+6.1%), and again to 13,819 m² in 2016 (+55.6%). Validation with terrestrial lidar supported this increase, but suggested the total extent was still underestimated. Estimates of Spartina alterniflora extent from airborne lidar were within 7% of those from terrestrial lidar, but overestimation of height of Spartina alterniflora was found to occur at the edges of creeks (+83.9%). Capturing algae was found to require observations within ±15° of nadir, and capturing creek structure required observations within ±10° of nadir. In addition, 90.33% of creeks and ditches were successfully captured in the airborne lidar data (8206.3 m out of 9084.3 m found in aerial imagery).