Don, I have been thinking abut making a simplified version of something like this to make finding the edge of the canopy easier without trying to walk with your head upwards and stumbling around to find the edge. I was thinking a pvc tube with a 45 degree mirror with a hanging down pendulum like thing (thinking small fishing weight) centered in the upright tube so you could tell if it was pointed straight up. It would not measure the density of canopy, but would make it easier to look straight up accurately. it would be maybe $3 or $4. The densiometer like you referenced can be had from Ben Meadows for $99.
Ed ----- Original Message ----- From: DON BERTOLETTE To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 2:51 AM Subject: [ENTS] Re: Problem#15 Bob- I am not surprised that in the quest for tree superlatives that Larry's live oaks has you thinking they may be a contender for the humongous crown category. Higher order crown measurements might be in order. Some thoughts: You may recall me plugging the GRS densiometer GRS Densiometer This instrument has an angled sighting mirror and offset leveling vials which allow vertical sampling of forest canopies for a variety of coverage characteristics such as: canopy structure, coverage by tree size and species, and percentage of conifer/hardwood. Constructed of durable PVC material. in earlier posts, maybe not. But as one who used it often to determine canopy closure, I think it would be ideal, accurate, lightweight, and small enough for every man's gear bag. I envision a tree nerd with a GRS in one hand shooting the edge of a crown, a GPS in the other as he/she traverses around the edge of the crown. Another consideration, would require a 3-D visualization software, but consider the same tree nerd roaming around the live oak, shooting an array of vertical triangles that 'map' the crown (instead of seeking only high point, seek crown representative points, that would better build the crown model. -Don ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 01:58:11 +0000 From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: [ENTS] Re: Problem#15 Larry, I believe that those huge southern live oaks that you are documenting signal the need for us to expand our set of measurements - principally for the biggest of the trees that we document. Our challenge is to choose a set of measurements that can be done in the field and that convey the size of the tree. What do you think of the area of the crown projected onto the ground? I have an idea of how best to collect the field data and run the numbers through a spreadsheet to get the area covered, but don't want to pursue development of the process if the rest of you don't see merit to the idea. I'm anxious to also hear from Ed, Will, Dale, Don, Don, et al. on the idea. Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: "Larry" <[email protected]> To: "ENTSTrees" <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, March 5, 2009 4:41:48 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [ENTS] Re: Problem#15 Bob, Thanks for the formula. This is some good stuff Bob! Larry ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Express your personality in color! Preview and select themes for Hotmail®. See how. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
