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Estimating Above-Ground Biomass and Above-Ground Carbon by Remote Sensing Data

A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Remote Sensing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 3549

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Forest Modelling Lab., Institute for Agriculture and Forestry Systems in the Mediterranean, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ISAFOM), Via Madonna Alta 128, 06128 Perugia, Italy
2. GeoLAB—Laboratorio di Geomatica Forestale, Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agrarie, Alimentari, Ambientali e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via San Bonaventura 13, 50145 Firenze, Italy
Interests: forest modeling through remote sensing data; spatialization of environmental variables, particularly in growing stock volume trends; carbon cycle

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
GeoLAB—Laboratorio di Geomatica Forestale, Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agrarie, Alimentari, Ambientali e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via San Bonaventura 13, 50145 Firenze, Italy
Interests: application of geomatics to forestry; remote sensing; forest inventories and monitoring; sustainable forest management; land planning; landscape ecology; biodiversity; forest fires and climate change; bio-geo-chemical models; decision support systems; forest ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Forest Modelling Lab., Institute for Agriculture and Forestry Systems in the Mediterranean, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ISAFOM), Via Madonna Alta 128, 06128 Perugia, Italy
Interests: forest modeling; climate change; climate change impacts; forest management scenario; carbon cycle; nitrogen cycle; climate change adaptation; climate change mitigation; forest ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Today, forests stand as a powerful ally in the battle against climate change and, if managed properly, they can prevent emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and act as critical carbon sinks. The urgency of safeguarding these ecosystems has never been greater and accurately measuring their above-ground biomass (AGB) and carbon storage (AGC) is a major step toward this goal. While traditional field-based methods for quantifying AGB and AGC pose certain challenges, recent advancements in remote sensing and computational capabilities have come to offer efficient and innovative new alternatives, enabling increasingly accurate estimates at a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Recent estimation methods rely on data fusion from different sensors and advanced machine learning algorithms; yet, these new possibilities raise questions regarding accuracy and precision. In a framework where greater and greater precision is required, we can no longer rely on “static” metrics to assess the performance of models and maps. Understanding spatial uncertainties is paramount and imperative to making remote sensing estimates more robust and reliable, and our continued efforts should focus on complementing maps of forest variables with the related error maps.

This Special Issue aims to bring together scientists and specialists developing and applying new remote sensing approaches in an effort to improve our understanding of the biomass and carbon dynamics of forest ecosystems. The topics covered in this Special Issue include, but are not exclusive to, the following:

  • New methods to assess biomass and carbon in forest ecosystems using remote sensing;
  • New sensors and new data fusion approaches;
  • Temporal assessment of biomass and carbon dynamics;
  • Biomass and carbon assessment via proximal sensing, i.e., TLS, photogrammetry, etc.;
  • Spatial and temporal uncertainty assessments;
  • Impact of forest disturbances on biomass and carbon balance;
  • Large-scale monitoring of biomass and carbon dynamics;
  • Cloud computing approaches.

Dr. Elia Vangi
Prof. Dr. Gherardo Chirici
Dr. Alessio Collalti
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • above-ground biomass
  • carbon stock
  • remote sensing
  • machine learning
  • climate change
  • forest modeling
  • spatial modeling

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 9332 KiB  
Article
Modeling Forest Carbon Stock Based on Sample Plots and UAV Lidar Data from Multiple Sites and Examining Its Vertical Characteristics in Wuyishan National Park
by Kai Jian, Dengsheng Lu and Guiying Li
Remote Sens. 2025, 17(3), 377; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17030377 - 23 Jan 2025
Viewed by 741
Abstract
The accurate estimation of forest carbon stocks with remote sensing technologies helps reveal the spatial patterns of forest carbon stocks within national parks, but the limited number of sample plots in one site often results in difficulty in developing robust estimation models. This [...] Read more.
The accurate estimation of forest carbon stocks with remote sensing technologies helps reveal the spatial patterns of forest carbon stocks within national parks, but the limited number of sample plots in one site often results in difficulty in developing robust estimation models. This study employed a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate forest carbon stock based on data from 193 sample plots collected across 37 UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) Lidar sites. The developed model was employed to predict the carbon stock distribution in 17 Lidar sites within Wuyishan National Park (WNP). Then, the carbon stock characteristics along vertical zones of vegetation distribution (VZsVD) were examined. The results showed an overall coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.84 for forest carbon stock estimation across four regions, with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 12.09 t/ha. Within WNP, the overall R2 was 0.73, with specific values of 0.83 for broadleaf forests, 0.61 for mixed forests, 0.53 for Masson pine forests, and 0.46 for Chinese fir forests. Despite variations in R2, the relative RMSE (rRMSE) averaged 20.15%, ranging from 10.83% to 23.57%. The average carbon stock was 52.15 t/ha. Forest diversity and structural complexity emerged as key factors influencing the vertical distribution of carbon stocks. Regions with complex and diverse forest types exhibited higher and more evenly distributed carbon stocks. Chinese fir and Masson pine showed higher carbon stocks in low-altitude regions (350–850 m) than other vegetation types. In medium- to high-elevation regions (1350–1600 m), the carbon stocks of mixed forest and broadleaf forests remained relatively stable. Conversely, coniferous forests at high altitudes (above 1600 m) had lower carbon stocks due to extreme climatic and terrain conditions. This study provided a comprehensive analysis of carbon stock distribution across different VZsVD in WNP, offering valuable insights for enhancing the management of national parks. Full article
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26 pages, 7312 KiB  
Article
Climate Interprets Saturation Value Variations Better Than Soil and Topography in Estimating Oak Forest Aboveground Biomass Using Landsat 8 OLI Imagery
by Yong Wu, Guanglong Ou, Tianbao Huang, Xiaoli Zhang, Chunxiao Liu, Zhi Liu, Zhibo Yu, Hongbin Luo, Chi Lu, Kaize Shi, Leiguang Wang and Weiheng Xu
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(8), 1338; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16081338 - 10 Apr 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1347
Abstract
The optical saturation problem is one of the main factors causing uncertainty in aboveground biomass (AGB) estimations using optical remote sensing data. It is critical for the improvement in AGB estimation accuracy to clarify the relationships between environmental factors and the variations in [...] Read more.
The optical saturation problem is one of the main factors causing uncertainty in aboveground biomass (AGB) estimations using optical remote sensing data. It is critical for the improvement in AGB estimation accuracy to clarify the relationships between environmental factors and the variations in optical saturation values (OSVs). In this study, we obtained the OSVs for 20 districts and clarified the individual, interactive, and comprehensive effects of climate, soil, and topographical factors on the OSV variations. The results are as follows: (1) the range of the OSVs was from 104 t/hm2 to 182 t/hm2 for the 20 districts; (2) the soil factor had the greatest (−0.635) influence on the OSVs compared to climate and topography; (3) the highest interaction effect (−0.833) was between climate and soil; (4) the comprehensive effect of the three environmental factors on the OSVs was obvious, and the correlation coefficient was 0.436. Moreover, the mean temperature of the coldest quarter (MCQMean) had the highest effect on the OSVs. The results indicate that environmental factors significantly affect the variation in OSVs through their individual, interactive, and comprehensive effects. Our findings provide a valuable reference for reducing the uncertainty caused by spectral saturation in AGB estimations using optical remote sensing data. Full article
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