Photo of Douglas J. King

Douglas J. King

Distinguished Research Professor

Degrees:B.A.Sc., M.Sc.F., Ph.D. (Toronto)

Condolences and Memories of Dr. Doug King

Publications

Biography

  • Pioneered development of airborne multispectral airborne video and digital camera sensors in the 1980s and 1990s for local environmental applications.
  • Current research includes high resolution UAV to satellite scale imaging for vegetation composition, structure, productivity and health modelling, mapping and monitoring in forest, wetland, agriculture and tundra environments.
  • Projects include analysis of image spectral, spatial, temporal, radiometric fraction and object-derived metrics as well as GIS-based geo-spatial/temporal metrics.

Research:

  • Farmland biodiversity and landscape spatial-temporal dynamics (Niloofar Alavi, PhD); part of NSERC Strategic Project with Lenore Fahrig (Biology); Scott Mitchell and Kathryn Lindsay (Adjunct) (see publications and http://www.glel.carleton.ca/)
  • Wetland vegetation-hydrology interactions (co-supervised with Murray Richardson; Ambika Paudel, PhD)
  • Improving classification of land use/land cover in grassland-forage areas (co-supervised with Andrew Davidson AAFC; Emily Lindsay, PhD)
  • Chlorophyll and plant area index mapping in arctic tundra using empirical and physically based models with multi-angle hyperspectral field and image data (Blair Kennedy, PhD)
  • Linking earth observations to peatland ecosystem carbon fluxes in the Hudson Bay lowlands (Jason Beaver, MSc; co-supervised with Elyn Humphreys).

Early Career Research:

  • Sugar maple decline assessment
  • Forest damage modelling and mapping at an abandoned mine site
  • Ice storm forest damage and post-storm dynamics
  • Development of a multivariate forest complexity index
  • Forest change and trend analysis using Landsat time series
  • Automated tree crown detection and delineation in regenerating forests
  • Species at risk habitat mapping (e.g., hooded warbler; Blanding’s turtle; chorus frog)
  • Wetland mapping and temporal analysis
  • Radar applications in wetland mapping, arctic substrate mapping, Phragmites detection, sea ice tracking
  • Other applications in water, agriculture, sensors, etc.
  • Thanks to the many grad students and post docs on these projects! See publications.

Research funding: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC); Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC); Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC); Canadian Wildlife Federation; MITACS; A&L Canada Inc.; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR); Intermap Inc.; Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI); the Ontario Innovation Trust (OIT); The Hamlin Family Fund; Carleton University; Natural Resources Canada; Ontario Ministry of Environment; National Geographic Society.

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