Saturday, February 10, 2007
Database Tools for Analyzing Forest Canopy Information
http://academic.evergreen.edu/n/nadkarnn/cv/index.html
Nalini Nadkarni
Award Abstract #9630316 Database Tools for Analyzing Forest Canopy Information
NSF Org:
DBI
Initial Amendment Date:
August 29, 1996
Latest Amendment Date:
January 10, 2000
Award Number:
9630316
Award Instrument:
Standard Grant
Program Manager:
Sylvia J. Spengler DBI Division of Biological InfrastructureBIO Directorate for Biological Sciences
Start Date:
September 1, 1996
Expires:
February 28, 2001 (Estimated)
Awarded Amount to Date:
$234855
Investigator(s):
Nalini Nadkarni nadkarnn@evergreen.edu(Principal Investigator) David Maier (Co-Principal Investigator)Jerry Franklin (Co-Principal Investigator)Judith Cushing (Co-Principal Investigator)
Sponsor:
Evergreen State College Olympia, WA 98505 206/867-6000
NSF Program(s):
INFORMATION & KNOWLEDGE MANAGE,BIOLOGICAL DATABASES & INFORMA
Field Application(s):
0102000 Data Banks,0108000 Software Development,61 Life Science Biological
Program Reference Code(s):
HPCC,9251,9229,9184,9169,9139,1592
Program Element Code(s):
6855,1165
ABSTRACTThe forest canopy is increasingly regarded as a region of great ecological importance. Canopy communities are poorly understood, partly due to access problems and partly due to a lack of expertise and software tools to analyze complex three-dimensional tree crown data. The PIs propose an interdisciplinary effort to develop database systems to manage, analyze, and disseminate shared data pertaining to complex ecological questions using forest canopy data. The demonstration project will be carried about among seven cooperating but independent researchers at a forest canopy research site, the Wind River Canopy Research Facility in Washington State. Data from existing projects that focus at different spatial and temporal scales will be linked to allow efficient use of site data and to solve novel questions that could not be addressed by a single researcher's data sets. The resulting database management tools will allow researchers to easily gain access to site- specific data and each others' data, which will enhance the productivity both of the individual scientists and of the site as a whole. The initial research focus will be on the development of data models and prototype data structures and data sets for one concurrent study of forest canopy structure and hydrology. That research examines the role of forest canopies in intercepting, modifying, retaining, and conducting water from atmospheric sources (rain, mist, snow) to the forest floor. Forest canopy structure has obvious implications in these processes, but the complexity and three-dimensional nature of forest canopies (especially those of old-growth, structurally complex forests) has prevented ecologists from gaining a quantified understanding of the patterns and processes underlying these interactions. The PI will also continue refining the two database browsers for the Wind River Site data and will extend the data model for those browsers to show the connection with the canopy structure and hydro logy model. Development of a sound data model will allow forest canopy scientists to organize, visualize, and analyze their data in powerful ways. It will also provide the means to link forest canopy structural data with relevant environmental data sets (such as meteorological data) and with other forest functional data sets (e.g., photosynthesis of canopy organisms).
Nalini Nadkarni
Award Abstract #9630316 Database Tools for Analyzing Forest Canopy Information
NSF Org:
DBI
Initial Amendment Date:
August 29, 1996
Latest Amendment Date:
January 10, 2000
Award Number:
9630316
Award Instrument:
Standard Grant
Program Manager:
Sylvia J. Spengler DBI Division of Biological InfrastructureBIO Directorate for Biological Sciences
Start Date:
September 1, 1996
Expires:
February 28, 2001 (Estimated)
Awarded Amount to Date:
$234855
Investigator(s):
Nalini Nadkarni nadkarnn@evergreen.edu(Principal Investigator) David Maier (Co-Principal Investigator)Jerry Franklin (Co-Principal Investigator)Judith Cushing (Co-Principal Investigator)
Sponsor:
Evergreen State College Olympia, WA 98505 206/867-6000
NSF Program(s):
INFORMATION & KNOWLEDGE MANAGE,BIOLOGICAL DATABASES & INFORMA
Field Application(s):
0102000 Data Banks,0108000 Software Development,61 Life Science Biological
Program Reference Code(s):
HPCC,9251,9229,9184,9169,9139,1592
Program Element Code(s):
6855,1165
ABSTRACTThe forest canopy is increasingly regarded as a region of great ecological importance. Canopy communities are poorly understood, partly due to access problems and partly due to a lack of expertise and software tools to analyze complex three-dimensional tree crown data. The PIs propose an interdisciplinary effort to develop database systems to manage, analyze, and disseminate shared data pertaining to complex ecological questions using forest canopy data. The demonstration project will be carried about among seven cooperating but independent researchers at a forest canopy research site, the Wind River Canopy Research Facility in Washington State. Data from existing projects that focus at different spatial and temporal scales will be linked to allow efficient use of site data and to solve novel questions that could not be addressed by a single researcher's data sets. The resulting database management tools will allow researchers to easily gain access to site- specific data and each others' data, which will enhance the productivity both of the individual scientists and of the site as a whole. The initial research focus will be on the development of data models and prototype data structures and data sets for one concurrent study of forest canopy structure and hydrology. That research examines the role of forest canopies in intercepting, modifying, retaining, and conducting water from atmospheric sources (rain, mist, snow) to the forest floor. Forest canopy structure has obvious implications in these processes, but the complexity and three-dimensional nature of forest canopies (especially those of old-growth, structurally complex forests) has prevented ecologists from gaining a quantified understanding of the patterns and processes underlying these interactions. The PI will also continue refining the two database browsers for the Wind River Site data and will extend the data model for those browsers to show the connection with the canopy structure and hydro logy model. Development of a sound data model will allow forest canopy scientists to organize, visualize, and analyze their data in powerful ways. It will also provide the means to link forest canopy structural data with relevant environmental data sets (such as meteorological data) and with other forest functional data sets (e.g., photosynthesis of canopy organisms).
