Estimation of Forest Aboveground Biomass in Changbai Mountain Region Using ICESat/GLAS and Landsat/TM Data

Abstract

Mapping the magnitude and spatial distribution of forest aboveground biomass (AGB, in Mg·ha−1) is crucial to improve our understanding of the terrestrial carbon cycle. Landsat/TM (Thematic Mapper) and ICESat/GLAS (Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite, Geoscience Laser Altimeter System) data were integrated to estimate the AGB in the Changbai Mountain area. Firstly, four forest types were delineated according to TM data classification. Secondly, different models for prediction of the AGB at the GLAS footprint level were developed from GLAS waveform metrics and the AGB was derived from field observations using multiple stepwise regression. Lastly, GLAS-derived AGB, in combination with vegetation indices, leaf area index (LAI), canopy closure, and digital elevation model (DEM), were used to drive a data fusion model based on the random forest approach for extrapolating the GLAS footprint AGB to a continuous AGB map. The classification result showed that the Changbai Mountain region was characterized as forest-rich in altitudinal vegetation zones. The contribution of remote sensing variables in modeling the AGB was evaluated. Vegetation index metrics account for large amount of contribution in AGB ranges <150 Mg·ha−1, while canopy closure has the largest contribution in AGB ranges ≥150 Mg·ha−1. Our study revealed that spatial information from two sensors and DEM could be combined to estimate the AGB with an R2 of 0.72 and an RMSE of 25.24 Mg·ha−1 in validation at stand level (size varied from ~0.3 ha to ~3 ha).