A Historical Reconstruction of Vegetation Change and a Carbon Budget for the Brazilian Cerrado Using Multiple Satellite Platforms and Historical Aerial Photography
Rob
Braswell, Complex System Research Center, UNH, rob.braswell@unh.edu
(Presenting)
Michael
Keller, NEON Inc., michael@kaos.sr.unh.edu
Stephen
Hagen, Applied GeoSolutions, hagennh@gmail.com
Michael
Palace, Complex System Research Center, UNH, palace@kaos.sr.unh.edu
Laerte
Ferreira, Universidade Federal de Goias - UFG Instituto de Estudos Socio-Ambientais - IESA Campus II - Caixa Postal 131, Goiania GO 74001-970, BRAZIL, laerte@iesa.ufg.br
Mercedes
Bustamante, UnB - Universidade de Brasília, Departamento de Ecologia ICC-Campus Universitario Asa Norte, Brasilia DF 70910-970, BRAZIL, mercedes@unb.br
The Brazilian Cerrado biome covers an area of approximately 2 million square kilometers and is responsible for the majority of soybean and coffee production in Brazil. During the past 50 years rapid land use change has occurred in the Brazilian cerrado, through the conversion of cerrado to agriculture and pasture. We plan to use multiscale optical remote sensing and field observations to quantify changes in vegetation cover and net changes in vegetation C-stocks in the Brazilian Cerrado region, from 1964 to 2008. For the years 2000 to 2008, we will also produce annual estimates of vegetation cover and C-stocks in vegetation. Our analysis will depend upon a range of remote sensing data including moderate resolution and very high resolution satellite-borne optical sensors and historical aerial photography. These data will be calibrated with ground based biometric plot data from a Brazilian network of ground based Cerrado observations. High resolution image processing using an automated crown detection algorithm will be key to linking field observations with synoptic reflectance imagery.
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