Remotely Accurate? Estimating Above Ground Biomass with Remote Sensing
Abstract:
Trees play a pivotal role in carbon sequestration, and the majority of their carbon content can be calculated by measuring their above ground biomass. This poster explores the integration of remote sensing and geospatial information systems (GIS) to determine the above ground biomass of trees, and consequently the carbon content stored in these trees. In a case study of oak woodlands on River Ridge Ranch in Springville, California, Digital Terrain Models and Digital Surface Models were used to determine the height of the trees within the study area, and polygon shapefiles were used to calculate the trees’ crown areas. After obtaining biomass calculations, a global formula was applied to calculate the carbon content of trees in the study area. The data generated were tested to measure the reliability of this method. The results indicate that over-segmentation in the polygon data is a methodological obstacle, and that species-specific calculations provide more accurate results than the global equation. The use of remote sensing and GIS has the potential to be time- and cost-effective, and this study provides important methodological insights into the feasibility of calculating the above ground biomass of trees using remote sensing and GIS.