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Satellite Remote Sensing for Monitoring Forest Carbon and Supporting Nature-Based Carbon Crediting Mechanisms

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 853

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Marine Environment and Engineering, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Interests: remote sensing; forest carbon monitoring; carbon credits and carbon markets; offshore wind power
College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
Interests: remote sensing; GIS; urban ecology; climate change; greenhouse gas emissions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forests play a key role in global climate regulation and carbon sequestration. With technological advances, satellite remote sensing has become an important tool for observing changes in forests and their carbon storage. All of those with an interest in forest carbon monitoring, remote sensing applications, or carbon credit topics, whether a beginner or an experienced researcher, are welcome to submit to this Special Issue. Presenting your research and case studies or exchanging your experience can contribute to promoting sustainable forest management and climate action.

This Special Issue aims to collate various practical or experimental research results obtained using satellite remote sensing technology to support forest carbon monitoring, Nature-Based Solutions (NbSs), and carbon credit markets. Whether the research focuses on technological innovations, application experiences, policy discussions, or interdisciplinary cooperation, as long as it promotes the application of remote sensing technology in forest carbon management, it is welcomed as a submission.

We welcome all types of manuscripts, including original research, application case studies, technical reports, short papers, reviews, and those sharing practical experiences. Submission topics may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Using remote sensing technology to estimate forest biomass or carbon storage;
  • The applications of satellite data in carbon credit certification or forest management;
  • Experiences combining ground observations and remote sensing data;
  • Remote sensing monitoring of forest changes, logging, degradation, etc.;
  • Sharing the details of practical case studies, such as how to use remote sensing to support Nature-Based Solutions;
  • Simple carbon flux analysis using remote sensing data;
  • Any innovative ideas or practical experiences related to forests, carbon, and remote sensing.

We hope this Special Issue will act as a platform for information exchange and learning. If you are passionate about forest carbon monitoring, remote sensing technology, or carbon credit topics, please do not hesitate to submit a paper.

Dr. You-Ren Wang
Dr. Zutao Yang
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

  • satellite remote sensing
  • forest carbon monitoring
  • carbon flux analysis
  • nature-based solutions (NbSs)
  • carbon crediting mechanisms
  • carbon MRV
  • blue carbon

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

27 pages, 6579 KiB  
Article
Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Forest Carbon Sinks in China’s Qinba Mountains: Insights from Sun-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence Remote Sensing
by Yuhang Lian, Yi He, Li Wang, Yaoting Wu, Yujie Wang, Zixuan Xu, Xinwen Xu and Lei Wang
Remote Sens. 2025, 17(8), 1418; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17081418 - 16 Apr 2025
Viewed by 403
Abstract
Forest carbon sinks are crucial in mitigating climate change as integral components of the global carbon cycle. Accurately estimating forest carbon sinks using traditional remote sensing indices, such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI), presents significant challenges, particularly in complex terrains and regions with [...] Read more.
Forest carbon sinks are crucial in mitigating climate change as integral components of the global carbon cycle. Accurately estimating forest carbon sinks using traditional remote sensing indices, such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI), presents significant challenges, particularly in complex terrains and regions with variable climates. These limitations hinder the effective capture of photosynthetic dynamics. To address this gap, this study leverages Sun-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence (SIF) remote sensing, highlighting its superiority over traditional indices in capturing photosynthetic processes and offering a more precise approach to estimating carbon sinks in climate-sensitive mountainous areas. Using SIF data from GOSIF, alongside models for light-use efficiency and ecosystem respiration, this study estimates forest carbon sinks in the Qinba Mountains of China during the growing season (June to September) from 2011 to 2018. The results are further validated and analyzed in terms of forest age and type. Key findings include: (1) The average annual forest carbon sinks during the growing season was approximately 24.51 TgC; (2) Spatially, higher carbon sinks values (average 36.79 gC·m⁻2·month⁻1) were concentrated in the western and central Qinba areas, while southeastern and central-northern regions exhibited lower values (average 7.75 gC·m⁻2·month⁻1); (3) Temporally, minimal interannual variation was observed in the northwest, whereas the southeast showed fluctuating trends, with an initial decline followed by an increase; (4) Forest carbon sinks was significantly influenced by forest age, type, and altitude. Our findings demonstrate that plantation forests aged 10 to 30 years exhibit superior carbon sequestration capacity compared to natural forests, while natural forests aged 70 to 90 years also show significant carbon sinks potential. These results underscore the crucial influence of forest characteristics on carbon sequestration dynamics. By examining these spatiotemporal patterns in the Qinba Mountains, our study offers valuable insights for advancing China’s ‘dual carbon’ goals, emphasizing the importance of strategic forest management in mitigating climate change. Full article
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