A perspective on advances in remote sensing technology and its implications for measuring and monitoring forest carbon stocks and change

Scott J. Goetz, Woods Hole Research Center, sgoetz@whrc.org (Presenter)
Ralph Dubayah, University of Maryland, dubayah@umd.edu

Forest monitoring using satellite imagery has advanced tremendously over the past few decades, to the point that these data sets now inform international policy agreements, notably those associated with emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere from deforestation and other types of land use change. Satellite technological advances require time, however, to move towards a state of operational readiness for monitoring and reporting, for example in the case of forest cover and associated carbon stock (biomass) and their changes through time. Here we provide an overview of the current status of forest monitoring using satellites and we explore new technologies that are already revolutionizing the way that forest carbon is measured. We focus in particular on the capabilities of lidar (light detection and ranging), noting the opportunities but also the challenges that arise in moving technologies from those flown on aircraft to earth orbiting satellites. We present and discuss these capabilities in the context of next-generation earth observation missions and international reporting requirements for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) under the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change).

Presentation Type:  Poster

Session:  Global Change Impact & Vulnerability   (Tue 11:30 AM)

Associated Project(s): 

• Dubayah, Ralph: Integrating Vegetation 3D Structure and Ecological modeling for Continental Scale Assessments of Biodiversity, Biomass and Disturbance ...details

Poster Location ID: 148