Methodology for Regional to Global Mapping of Aboveground Forest Biomass

Purpose of Review This review presents cutting-edge methods and current and forthcoming satellite remote sensing technologies to map aboveground biomass (AGB). Recent Findings The monitoring of carbon stored in living AGB of forest is of key importance to understand the global carbon cycle and for the functioning of international economic mechanisms aiming to protect and enhance forest carbon stocks. The main challenge of monitoring AGB lies in the difficulty of obtaining field measurements and allometric models in several parts of the world due to geographical remoteness, lack of capacity, data paucity or armed conflicts. Space-borne remote sensing in combination with ground measurements is the most cost-efficient technology to undertake the monitoring of AGB. Summary These approaches face several challenges: lack of ground data for calibration/validation purposes, signal saturation in high AGB, coverage of the sensor, cloud cover persistence or complex signal retrieval due to topography. New space-borne sensors to be launched in the coming years will allow accurate measurements of AGB in high biomass forests (>200 t ha −1 ) for the first time across large areas.

show abstract

Quantifying Forest Biomass Carbon Stocks From Space

Rodríguez-Veiga

et al. 2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Satellite passive microwaves reveal recent climate-induced carbon losses in African drylands

Wigneron²,

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The African continent is facing one of the driest periods in the past three decades as well as continued deforestation. These disturbances threaten vegetation carbon (C) stocks and highlight the need for improved capabilities of monitoring large-scale aboveground carbon stock dynamics. Here we use a satellite dataset based on vegetation optical depth derived from low-frequency passive microwaves (L-VOD) to quantify annual aboveground biomass-carbon changes in sub-Saharan Africa between 2010 and 2016. L-VOD is shown not to saturate over densely vegetated areas. The overall net change in drylands (53% of the land area) was -0.05 petagrams of C per year (Pg C yr) associated with drying trends, and a net change of -0.02 Pg C yr was observed in humid areas. These trends reflect a high inter-annual variability with a very dry year in 2015 (net change, -0.69 Pg C) with about half of the gross losses occurring in drylands. This study demonstrates, first, the applicability of L-VOD to monitor the dynamics of carbon loss and gain due to weather variations, and second, the importance of the highly dynamic and vulnerable carbon pool of dryland savannahs for the global carbon balance, despite the relatively low carbon stock per unit area.

show abstract

scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.

Contact Info

customersupport@researchsolutions.com

10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614

Henderson, NV 89052, USA

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Blog Terms and Conditions API Terms Privacy Policy Contact Cookie Preferences Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Made with 💙 for researchers

Part of the Research Solutions Family.

Methodology for Regional to Global Mapping of Aboveground Forest Biomass

Cited by 2 publications

References 76 publications

Quantifying Forest Biomass Carbon Stocks From Space

Quantifying Forest Biomass Carbon Stocks From Space

Satellite passive microwaves reveal recent climate-induced carbon losses in African drylands

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About