Predicting soil organic carbon stocks under commercial forest plantations in KwaZulu-Natal province,South Africa using remotely sensed data

ABSTRACT

Commercial forest plantations are increasing globally, absorbing a large amount of carbon valuable for climate change mitigation. Whereas most carbon assimilation studies have mainly focused on natural forests, understanding the spatial distribution of carbon in commercial forests is central to determining their role in the global carbon cycle. Forest soils are the largest carbon reservoir; hence soils under commercial forests could store a significant amount of carbon. However, the variability of soil organic carbon (SOC) within forest landscapes is still poorly understood. Due to limitations encountered in traditional systems of SOC determination, especially at large spatial extents, remote sensing approaches have recently emerged as a suitable option in mapping soil characteristics. Therefore, this study aimed at predicting soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in commercial forests using Landsat 8 data. Eighty-one soil samples were processed for SOC concentration and fifteen Landsat 8 derived variables, including vegetation indices and bands were used as predictors to SOC variability. The random forest (RF) was adopted for variable selection and regression method for SOC prediction. Variable selection was done using RF backward elimination to derive three best subset predictors and improve prediction accuracy. These variables were then used to build the RF final model for SOC prediction. The RF model yielded good accuracies with root mean square error of prediction (RMSE) of 0.704 t/ha (16.50% of measured mean SOC) and 10-fold cross-validation of 0.729 t/ha (17.09% of measured mean SOC). The results demonstrate the effectiveness of Landsat 8 bands and derived vegetation indices and RF algorithm in predicting SOC stocks in commercial forests. This study provides an effective framework for local, national or global carbon accounting as well as helps forest managers constantly evaluate the status of SOC in commercial forest compartments.     

In Search of the Statistical Properties of High-Resolution Polarimetric SAR Data for the Measurements of Forest Biomass Beyond the RCS Saturation Limits

The purpose of this letter is to present the results on the study of searching effective parameters that describe the relation between high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images and forest parameters. The study is based on the non-Gaussian texture analysis of the polarimetric airborne Pi-SAR data over coniferous forests in Hokkaido, Japan. The radar cross section (RCS) in terms of a forest biomass is first analyzed. It is found that the L-band RCS increases steadily with the biomass and saturates at approximately 40 tons/ha. These results are similar to the previous studies. The probability density function of the image amplitude is then investigated, and among Rayleigh, log-normal, Weibull, and K-distributions, the K-distribution is found to fit best to the L-band data of all polarizations, although the Weibull distribution fits equally well. Further, the correlation between the tree biomass and the order parameter of the K-distribution in the cross-polarization images is found to be very high, and the order parameter increases consistently with the biomass to approximately 100 tons/ha, which is well beyond the saturation limit of the L-band RCS. Thus, the order parameter of the K-distribution can be a promising new parameter to estimate the forest biomass from high-resolution polarimetric SAR data in a much wider range than the conventional RCS method     

Retrieval of tropical forest biomass information from ALOS PALSAR data

Advanced Land Observing Satellite Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (ALOS PALSAR) data from different observation modes were analysed to determine (1) which observation mode most accurately retrieves tropical forest biomass information and (2) whether different modes, when considered together, yield improved results in comparison to identical data-sets analysed independently. We performed regression analysis to estimate above-ground forest biomass using PALSAR backscatter data for natural and planted forests in south-eastern Bangladesh. The coefficient of determination (r ²) was lower or equal to 0.499 (n = 70) when PALSAR data from different observation modes were separately considered, but increased sharply when one class (rubber) is dropped and average backscatter of fine beam single (FBS) and polrimetric (PLR) modes are used in the analysis. The results presented in this article are useful for both regional and global forest biomass inventories and fixing acquisition modes for planned L-band SAR missions.     

Modeling Forest Emissivity at L-Band and a Comparison With Multitemporal Measurements

This letter describes recent advances in modeling forest emissivity at L-band. The formulation is based on a previously developed discrete model and includes a new representation of forest litter. Comparisons with multitemporal radiometric data collected in the framework of the ldquoBray 2004rdquo experiment, which was carried out within Les Landes forest, are shown and discussed. Input variables are given by using detailed ground measurements. In general, the model reproduces both absolute values and temporal variations of measured brightness temperature. The contribution of the litter to overall emission was found to be important.     

Soil moisture retrieval from airborne L-band passive microwave using high resolution multispectral data

For the soil moisture retrieval from passive microwave sensors, such as ESA’s Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) and the NASA Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP) mission, a good knowledge about the vegetation characteristics is indispensable. Vegetation cover is a principal factor in the attenuation, scattering and absorption of the microwave emissions from the soil; and has a direct impact on the brightness temperature by way of its canopy emissions. Here, brightness temperatures were measured at three altitudes across the TERENO (Terrestrial Environmental Observatories) Rur catchment site in Germany to achieve a range of spatial resolutions using the airborne Polarimetric L-band Multibeam Radiometer 2 (PLMR2). The L-band Microwave Emission of the Biosphere (L-MEB) model which simulates microwave emissions from the soil–vegetation layer at L-band was used to retrieve surface soil moisture for all resolutions. A Monte Carlo approach was developed to simultaneously estimate soil moisture and the vegetation parameter b’ describing the relationship between the optical thickness τ and the Leaf Area Index (LAI). LAI was retrieved from multispectral RapidEye imagery and the plant specific vegetation parameter b′ was estimated from the lowest flight altitude data for crop, grass, coniferous forest, and deciduous forest. Mean values of b’ were found to be 0.18, 0.07, 0.26 and 0.23, respectively. By assigning the estimated b′ to higher flight altitude data sets, a high accuracy soil moisture retrieval was achieved with a Root Mean Square Difference (RMSD) of 0.035 m³ m⁻³ when compared to ground-based measurements.     

Wall-to-wall spatial prediction of growing stock volume based on Italian National Forest Inventory plots and remotely sensed data

Spatial predictions of forest variables are required for supporting modern national and sub-national forest planning strategies, especially in the framework of a climate change scenario. Nowadays methods for constructing wall-to-wall maps and calculating small-area estimates of forest parameters are becoming essential components of most advanced National Forest Inventory (NFI) programs. Such methods are based on the assumption of a relationship between the forest variables and predictor variables that are available for the entire forest area. Many commonly used predictors are based on data obtained from active or passive remote sensing technologies. Italy has almost 40% of its land area covered by forests. Because of the great diversity of Italian forests with respect to composition, structure and management and underlying climatic, morphological and soil conditions, a relevant question is whether methods successfully used in less complex temperate and boreal forests may be applied successfully at country level in Italy.For a study area of more than 48,657 km² in central Italy of which 43% is covered by forest, the study presents the results of a test regarding wall-to-wall, spatially explicit estimation of forest growing stock volume (GSV) based on field measurement of 1350 plots during the last Italian NFI. For the same area, we used potential predictor variables that are available across the whole of Italy: cloud-free mosaics of multispectral optical satellite imagery (Landsat 5 TM), microwave sensor data (JAXA PALSAR), a canopy height model (CHM) from satellite LiDAR, and auxiliary variables from climate, temperature and precipitation maps, soil maps, and a digital terrain model.Two non-parametric (random forests and k-NN) and two parametric (multiple linear regression and geographically weighted regression) prediction methods were tested to produce wall-to-wall map of growing stock volume at 23-m resolution. Pixel level predictions were used to produce small-area, province-level model-assisted estimates. The performances of all the methods were compared in terms of percent root mean-square error using a leave-one-out procedure and an independent dataset was used for validation. Results were comparable to those available for other ecological regions using similar predictors, but random forests produced the most accurate results with a pixel level R² = 0.69 and RMSE_% = 37.2% against the independent validation dataset. Model-assisted estimates were more precise than the original design-based estimates provided by the NFI.     

Estimation of Above Ground Biomass for Central Indian Deciduous Forests Using ALOS PALSAR L-Band Data

Reliable and accurate estimates of tropical forest above ground biomass (AGB) are important to reduce uncertainties in carbon budgeting. In the present study we estimated AGB of central Indian deciduous forests of Madhya Pradesh (M.P.) state, India, using Advanced Land Observing Satellite – Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (ALOS-PALSAR) L-band data of year 2010 in conjunction with field based AGB estimates using empirical models. Digital numbers of gridded 1?×?1° dual polarization (HH & HV) PALSAR mosaics for the study area were converted to normalized radar cross section (sigma naught - σ⁰). A total of 415 sampling plots (0.1 ha) data collected over the study area during 2009–10 was used in the present study. Plot-level AGB estimates using volume equations representative to the study area were computed using field inventory data. The plot-level AGB estimates were empirically modeled with the PALSAR backscatter information in HH, HV and their ratios from different forest types of the study area. The HV backscatter information showed better relation with field based AGB estimates with a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.509 which was used to estimate spatial AGB of the study area. Results suggested a total AGB of 367.4 Mt for forests of M.P. state. Further, validation of the model was carried out using observed vs. predicted AGB estimates, which suggested a root mean square error (RMSE) of ±19.32 t/ha. The model reported robust and defensible relation for observed vs. predicted AGB values of the study area.     

广东肇庆地区SIR-C森林雷达后向散射特征分析

森林雷达后向散射特征的研究是森林微波遥感应用的重要前提。本文利用不连续树冠森林微波后向散射模型模拟了肇庆地区松树林的雷达后向散射特征,并与从ＳＩＲ－Ｃ图像提取的雷达后向散射特征进行对比,从而分析和探讨了该区松树的雷达后向散射机制。     

Management Impacts on Forest Floor and Soil Organic Carbon in Northern Temperate Forests of the US

Background  

The role of forests in the global carbon cycle has been the subject of a great deal of research recently, but the impact of management practices on forest soil dynamics at the stand level has received less attention. This study used six forest management experimental sites in five northern states of the US to investigate the effects of silvicultural treatments (light thinning, heavy thinning, and clearcutting) on forest floor and soil carbon pools.     

Supervised classification approach for assessment of forest resources in part of u.p. plains,india using landsat-3 data

Forests in the plains of Uttar Pradesh are depleted to great extent. Existing figures on the area under forest, though contradictory, indicate a grim situation of forest cover. In the present study, supervised classification technique with maximum likelihood algorithum has been used to assess the forest in the region extending between Lucknow through Allahabad to Mirzapur city in the plains of Uttar Pradesh. It has been possible to successfully identify and map 5 different categories of forests by computer processing of Landsat-3 Multispectral Scanner data. The area under each category has also been computed. Whatever little forest exists in this area is also greatly influenced by biotic interferences. The vegetation formation in these forests is thus degraded and/or secondary. Spectral behaviour of various categories of forests have also been discussed.     

An Effective Model to Retrieve Soil Moisture from L- and C-Band SAR Data

This study investigated an appropriate method for soil moisture retrieval from radar images and coincident ground measurements acquired over bare soil and sparsely vegetated regions. The adopted approach based on a single scattering integral equation method (IEM) was developed to establish the relationship between backscatter coefficient and surface soil parameters including volumetric soil moisture content and surface roughness. The performance of IEM in 0–7.6 cm is better than that in 0–20 cm. Moreover, IEM can simulate correctly the backscatter coefficients only for the root mean square (RMS) height s < 1.5 cm at C-band and s < 2.5 cm at L-band by using an exponential correlation function and for s > 1.5 cm at C-band and s > 2.5 cm at L-band by using Gaussian function. However, due to the difficulties involved in the parameterization of soil surface roughness, the estimated accuracy is not satisfactory for the inversion of IEM. This paper used a combined roughness parameter and Fresnel reflection coefficient to develop an empirical model. Simulations were performed to support experimental results and to highlight soil moisture content and surface roughness effects in different polarizations. Results showed that a good agreement was found between the IEM simulations and the SAR measurements over a wide range of soil moisture and surface roughness characteristics. The model had a significant operational advantage in soil moisture retrieval. The correlation coefficients were 77.03 % at L-band and 81.45 % at C-band with the RMSEs of 0.515 and 0.4996 dB, respectively. Additionally, this work offered insight into the required application accuracy of soil moisture retrieval at a large area of arid regions.     

层析SAR反演森林垂直结构参数现状及发展趋势

森林垂直结构参数反演是进行森林资源管理、森林蓄积量估算及全球碳循环研究的基础。层析合成孔径雷达TomoSAR(Tomography Synthetic Aperture Radar)是随着InSAR/Pol-InSAR技术的日益发展而产生的,更适用于森林垂直结构参数反演。本文首先介绍了TomoSAR的概念与实现方式:PCT(Polarization Coherence Tomography)、多基线干涉层析SAR MB-InTomoSAR(Multi-baseline Interferometric Tomographic SAR)、多基线极化层析SAR MBPolTomoSAR(Multi-baseline Polarization Tomographic SAR);概括了目前应用TomoSAR技术反演森林垂直结构参数的技术方法与信号模型等;论述了应用TomoSAR技术提取森林垂直结构参数的现状,最后分析了应用TomoSAR技术提取森林垂直结构参数可能的发展方向。     

机器学习算法在森林地上生物量估算中的应用

森林地上生物量是森林生产力的重要评价指标,对其进行高效监测对维持全球碳平衡和保护生态系统具有重要意义。本文首先基于冠层高度模型数据,通过分水岭分割算法得到单木冠幅边界;然后在单木冠幅范围内提取23个LiDAR变量,结合佩诺布斯科特试验森林的87组实测数据,利用随机森林和支持向量机建立森林地上生物量估算模型;最后对样地模型估算的结果进行了比较,讨论了预测结果及其精度。结果表明:本文选用的随机森林模型和支持向量机模型在估算森林地上生物量的应用中获得了较高的精度;并且,随机森林模型在基于机载雷达数据估测森林地上生物量中的估算精度更高,模型泛化能力更强,制图精度也更好,具有更好的适用性。     

双矩阵算法的L波段多角度玉米微波辐射参数化模型

双矩阵MD(Matrix-Doubling)算法是辐射传输方程的一种数值解,考虑了植被层内的多次散射信号,具有较高的模拟精度。但受限于算法的复杂性,很难直接应用到地表参数的反演中。本文以玉米覆盖地表为研究对象,基于MD算法的模拟数据,发展了一种L波段多角度微波辐射参数化模型。基于模拟数据的对比结果表明,参数化模型具有与理论模型相当的精度,两者之间的发射率误差不超过0.004(V极化)和0.007(H极化)。同时,结合黑河流域的地面实测数据,利用本论文中发展的参数化模型模拟了纯玉米像元的辐射亮温。该模拟结果与相同像元尺度上机载L波段微波辐射计(PLMR)观测亮温之间的差异基本在10 K以内。     

高光谱与高空间分辨率遥感数据的亚热带森林生物量反演

精确估算森林生物量对全球碳平衡以及气候变化的研究有重要意义。以亚热带天然次生林为研究对象,借助地面实测样地数据,通过对机载LiCHy(LiDAR,CCD and Hyperspectral)传感器同时获取的高光谱和高空间分辨率数据进行信息提取和数据融合,建模反演森林生物量。首先通过面向对象分割方法进行单木冠幅提取,然后融合从高光谱数据提取的光谱特征变量和从高空间分辨率数据提取的单木冠幅统计变量,构建多元回归模型估算地上、地下生物量,最后利用地面实测生物量经交叉验证评价模型精度。结果表明,综合模型的精度(R~2为0.54—0.62)高于高光谱模型(R~2为0.48—0.57);在高光谱模型中地上生物量模型精度(R~2为0.57)高于地下生物量模型(R~2为0.48);在综合模型中地上生物量模型精度(R~2为0.62)同样高于地下生物量模型(R~2为0.54)。交叉验证结果表明,与仅使用高光谱数据(单一数据源)相比,通过集成高光谱和高空间分辨率数据的生物量反演效果有所提升,可以更加有效地估算亚热带森林生物量。     

Diverse responses of vegetation production to interannual summer drought in North America

Droughts are projected to occur more frequently with future climate change of rising temperature and low precipitation. However, its impact on regional and global vegetation production is not well understood, which in turn contributes to uncertainties to model carbon sequestration under drought scenarios. Using long-term continuous eddy covariance measurements (168 site-year), we present an analysis of the influences of interannual summer drought on vegetation production across 29 sites representing diverse ecoregions and plant functional types in North America. Results showed that interannual summer drought, which was evaluated by the increase in summer temperature or decrease in soil moisture, would cause reductions of both summer gross primary production (GPP) and net ecosystem production (NEP) in non-forest sites (e.g., grasslands and crops). On the contrary, forest ecosystems presented a very different pattern. For evergreen forests, lower summer soil moisture decreased both GPP and NEP; however, higher summer temperature only reduced NEP with no apparent impacts on GPP. Furthermore, summer drought did not show evident impacts on either summer GPP or NEP in deciduous forests, suggesting a better potential of deciduous forests in resisting summer drought and accumulating carbon from atmosphere. These observations imply diverse responses of vegetation production to interannual summer drought and such features would be useful to improve the strengths and weaknesses of ecosystem models to better comprehend the impacts of summer drought with future climate change.     

The negative alpha filter: a new Processing technique for polarimetric SAR interferometry

In this letter we develop a new concept, the negative alpha filter, which we suggest has application for quantitative estimation of surface parameters beneath vegetation using polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry (POLInSAR). We first derive the filter and then validate it using simulations of L-band coherent forest scattering. We then show initial results of applying the filter to airborne data from the German Aerospace Center's E-SAR L-band sensor.     

基于随机森林的遥感影像变化检测

随机森林是一种新兴的、高度灵活的机器学习算法，在预测和分类方面有着良好的稳定性，且算法性能要优于许多单预测器。鉴于此，本文提出了随机森林的遥感影像变化检测算法，利用熵率法对遥感影像进行超像素分割，获取最优分割结果；构建了基于随机森林的遥感影像变化检测模型，以所提取的Gabor特征和光谱特征作为模型输入进行训练和预测，并将有决策树的投票作为最终的变化检测结果。试验结果表明，本文所构建的随机森林变化检测模型在漏检率和虚检率上明显低于其他算法，且总体正确率高，在算法时间上也明显优于其他算法。     

The effects of land cover change on carbon stock dynamics in a dry Afromontane forest in northern Ethiopia

Background

Forests play an important role in mitigating global climate change by capturing and sequestering atmospheric carbon. Quantitative estimation of the temporal and spatial pattern of carbon storage in forest ecosystems is critical for formulating forest management policies to combat climate change. This study explored the effects of land cover change on carbon stock dynamics in the Wujig Mahgo Waren forest, a dry Afromontane forest that covers an area of 17,000 ha in northern Ethiopia.

Results

The total carbon stocks of the Wujig Mahgo Waren forest ecosystems estimated using a multi-disciplinary approach that combined remote sensing with a ground survey were 1951, 1999, and 1955 GgC in 1985, 2000 and 2016 years respectively. The mean carbon stocks in the dense forests, open forests, grasslands, cultivated lands and bare lands were estimated at 181.78?±?27.06, 104.83?±?12.35, 108.77?±?6.77, 76.54?±?7.84 and 83.11?±?8.53 MgC ha^?1 respectively. The aboveground vegetation parameters (tree density, DBH and height) explain 59% of the variance in soil organic carbon.

Conclusions

The obtained estimates of mean carbon stocks in ecosystems representing the major land cover types are of importance in the development of forest management plan aimed at enhancing mitigation potential of dry Afromontane forests in northern Ethiopia.

     

Forest aboveground biomass estimation in Zhejiang Province using the integration of Landsat TM and ALOS PALSAR data

In remote sensing–based forest aboveground biomass (AGB) estimation research, data saturation in Landsat and radar data is well known, but how to reduce this problem for improving AGB estimation has not been fully examined. Different vegetation types have their own species composition and stand structure, thus they have different data saturation values in Landsat or radar data. Optical and radar data also have different characteristics in representing forest stand structures, thus effective use of their features may improve AGB estimation. This research examines the effects of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and ALOS PALSAR L-band data and their integrations in forest AGB estimation of Zhejiang Province, China, and the roles of textural images from both datasets. The linear regression models of AGB were conducted by using (1) Landsat TM alone, (2) ALOS PALSAR data alone, (3) their combination as extra bands, and (4) their data fusion, based on non-stratification and stratification of vegetation types, respectively. The results show that (1) overall, Landsat TM data perform better than PALSAR data, but the latter can produce more accurate estimates for bamboo and shrub, and for forests with AGB values less than 60 Mg/ha; (2) the combination of TM and PALSAR data as extra bands can greatly improve AGB estimation performance, but their fusion using the modified high-pass filter resolution-merging technique cannot; (3) textures are indeed valuable in AGB estimation, especially for forests with complex stand structures such as mixed forests and pine forests with understories of broadleaf species; (4) stratification of vegetation types can improve AGB estimation performance; and (5) the results from the linear regression models are characterized by overestimation and underestimation for the smaller and larger AGB values, respectively, and thus, selecting non-linear models or non-parametric algorithms may be needed in future research.