The National Biomass and Carbon Dataset 2000:
A High Spatial Resolution Baseline to Reduce Uncertainty in Carbon Accounting and Flux Modeling
Josef
Kellndorfer, The Woods Hole Research Center, josefk@whrc.org
(Presenting)
Wayne
Walker, The Woods Hole Research Center, wwalker@whrc.org
Katie
Kirsch, The Woods Hole Research Center, kkirsch@whrc.org
Greg
Fiske, The Woods Hole Research Center Jesse
Bishop, The Woods Hole Research Center Elizabeth
LaPoint, USDA Forest Service –FIA Program, elapoint@fs.fed.us
Michael
Hoppus, USDA Forest Service –FIA Program James
Westfall, USDA Forest Service –FIA Program
A major goal of the North American Carbon Program (NACP) is to develop a quantitative scientific basis for regional to continental scale carbon accounting to reduce uncertainties about the carbon cycle component of the climate system. Area-based estimates of terrestrial biomass and carbon are best captured when biophysical measures of horizontal and vertical vegetation structure can be obtained. Given the highly complementary nature and quasi-synchronous data acquisition of the 2000 Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), the Landsat-based 2001 National Land Cover Database (NLCD), and data sets from the national LANDFIRE project, an exceptional opportunity exists for exploiting data synergies afforded by the fusion of these high-resolution, spatially explicit data sources. Whereas the thematic layers of the NLCD and LANDFIRE are suitable for characterizing horizontal structure (i.e., cover type, canopy density, etc.), SRTM provides information relating to the vertical structure (i.e., primarily height). Currently, a project funded under the NASA “Carbon Cycle Science” program - “The National Biomass and Carbon Dataset 2000 - NBCD2000” - is underway to generate a high-spatial resolution ecoregional database of circa-2000 vegetation canopy height, aboveground biomass, and carbon stocks for the conterminous U.S. from these data sets. In order to develop regression tree models for spatially extensive estimates of vegetation height and aboveground live dry biomass from the remote sensing data, reference data from the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, and selected airborne lidar-derived vegetation parameters are being used. The estimation of carbon storage in vegetation is being based on the established biomass-to-carbon conversion of [carbon = 0.5 * biomass]. The NBCD2000 project is following the same ecoregional mapping zone approach employed by the NLCD and LANDFIRE projects. Results from three mapping zones are presented. Final products will include spatially extensive maps with estimation errors. Completion of the NBCD 2000 data set is expected in early 2009.
NASA Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems Active Awards Represented by this Poster: