Blacksburg, Virginia — Researchers from the Virginia Tech College of Natural Resources and Environment have received a new grant from the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station to advance forest monitoring science through innovative uses of remote sensing technologies. The project aims to improve how scientists measure forest recovery and growth across the Southeast. The research is led by Professor Val Thomas, with co-principal investigator Professor Randolph Wynne … in collaboration with Todd Schroeder of the U.S. Forest Service. The joint venture agreement supports a two-year project titled Exploring Forest Growth with Multi-date LiDAR, 3D NAIP Point Clouds, and Spectral Trajectories. “Remotely-sensed changes in canopy vertical structure, coupled with higher temporal resolution changes in canopy spectral reflectance, have strong potential to improve forest science and management at a range of scales,” Wynn said. …The $142,000 award provides funding to Virginia Tech, with additional Forest Service contributions of staff expertise and data resources.