Estimation of tropical forest biomass using Landsat TM imagery and permanent plot data in Xishuangbanna,China |
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| Authors: | Cunjian Yang He Huang Siyuan Wang |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Research Center of Remote Sensing &2. GIS Applications, Key Laboratory of Land Resources Evaluation and Monitoring in Southwest, Ministry of Education, Sichuan Normal University , Chengdu , 610066 , PR China yangcj2008@126.com;4. GIS Applications, Key Laboratory of Land Resources Evaluation and Monitoring in Southwest, Ministry of Education, Sichuan Normal University , Chengdu , 610066 , PR China;5. Center of Earth Observation and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Science , 100080 , Beijing , PR China |
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| Abstract: | Because of its complexity, it is very difficult to obtain information about distribution of biomass in tropical forests. This article describes the estimation of tropical forest biomass by using Landsat TM and forest plot data in Xishuangbanna, PR China. The method includes several steps. First, the biomass for each forest permanent plot is calculated by using field inventory data. Second, Landsat TM images are geometrically corrected by using topographic maps. Third, a map of the tropical forest is obtained by using data from a variety of sources such as Landsat TM, digital elevation model (DEM), temperature and precipitation layers and expert knowledge. Finally, the biomass and carbon storage of each forest vegetation type in the forest map is calculated by using the tropical forest map and the forest plot biomass GIS database. In the study area, forest area accounts for 57% of the total 1.7?×?106 hectares. The total forest biomass is 2.0?×?108 tonne. It is shown that the forest vegetation map, the forest biomass and the forest carbon storage can be obtained by effectively integrating Landsat TM, ancillary data including DEM, temperature and precipitation, forest permanent plots and knowledge using the method proposed here. |
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