Estimation of Forest Biomass from High and Medium Spatial Resolution Satellite Imagery

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land – Observation and Monitoring".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 14 March 2025 | Viewed by 1050

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
MED—Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development & CHANGE—Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Earth Remote Sensing Laboratory-EaRSLab, Instituto de Investigação e Formação Avançada, Departamento de Engenharia Rural, Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade de Évora, Apartado 94, 7002-544 Évora, Portugal
Interests: remote sensing; forest biomass; precision agriculture; land use/land cover; image classification
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
MED—Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development & CHANGE—Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Instituto de Investigação e Formação Avançada, Departamento de Engenharia Rural, Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade de Évora, Apartado 94, 7002-544 Évora, Portugal
Interests: forestry; silviculture; modeling; biomass; stand structure
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forest biomass estimation is currently used with several approaches, namely for sustainable forest management, biodiversity, conservation, carbon sequestration, climate change mitigation, and environmental monitoring. Accurate data and innovative methodologies are essential for making informed decisions that balance human needs and the maintenance of ecosystems. Remote sensing data have brought about significant advancements in the estimation of forest biomass. Combining data from different remote sensing sensors (such as LiDAR, SAR, and optical sensors) provides the characterization of several forest parameters. Each sensor contributes unique information, leading to more accurate biomass estimates by capturing various aspects of stand structures. These data can be quantitatively analyzed to derive biomass estimates using both parametric and non-parametric regression models. These models relate remote sensing data, such as canopy height, horizontal crown projection, or spectral reflectance (such as original spectral data, vegetation indices, principal components, and texture indices) to ground-based measurements of biomass. The application of machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence that can automatically learn complex relationships in data also contributes towards enhancing biomass models’ accuracies.

Remote sensing data have developed rapidly in recent decades, with more varied and higher spatial, radiometric, and temporal resolutions enabling the periodic monitoring of spatiotemporal changes in forest areas at different scales (local, regional, continental, and global). Forest biomass estimation is crucial at local and regional scales due to forests’ impacts on communities, ecosystems, and sustainable development. For this purpose, new satellites have appeared with high and medium spatial resolution data, allowing for forest areas to be defined in more detail and consequently improving biomass models’ accuracies.

The goal of this Special Issue is to collect papers (original research articles and review papers) which provide insights into biomass modeling at tree and area levels with high and medium spatial resolution satellite data.

This Special Issue welcomes the submission of manuscripts that link the following themes:

  • Remote sensing;
  • Satellite image processing;
  • Geographic information systems;
  • Biomass modeling at tree and area level;
  • Model uncertainties;
  • Decision support systems;
  • Forestry;
  • Active/passive sensors.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Dr. Adélia Sousa
Dr. Ana Cristina Gonçalves
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • image classification
  • spectral indices
  • sustainability
  • stand structure
  • datasets
  • multiple scale
  • modeling
  • forest biomass
  • carbon sequestration

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 3541 KiB  
Article
Mapping of Forest Species Using Sentinel-2A Images in the Alentejo and Algarve Regions, Portugal
by Crismeire Isbaex, Ana Margarida Coelho, Ana Cristina Gonçalves and Adélia M. O. Sousa
Land 2024, 13(12), 2184; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13122184 - 14 Dec 2024
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Abstract
Land use and land cover (LULC) studies, particularly those focused on mapping forest species using Sentinel-2 (S2A) data, face challenges in delineating and identifying areas of heterogeneous forest components with spectral similarity at the canopy level. In this context, the main objective of [...] Read more.
Land use and land cover (LULC) studies, particularly those focused on mapping forest species using Sentinel-2 (S2A) data, face challenges in delineating and identifying areas of heterogeneous forest components with spectral similarity at the canopy level. In this context, the main objective of this study was to compare and analyze the feasibility of two classification algorithms, K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) and Random Forest (RF), with S2A data for mapping forest cover in the southern regions of Portugal, using tools with a free, open-source, accessible, and easy-to-use interface. Sentinel-2A data from summer 2019 provided 26 independent variables at 10 m spatial resolution for the analysis. Nine object-based LULC categories were distinguished, including five forest species (Quercus suber, Quercus rotundifolia, Eucalyptus spp., Pinus pinaster, and Pinus pinea), and four non-forest classes. Orfeo ToolBox (OTB) proved to be a reliable and powerful tool for the classification process. The best results were achieved using the RF algorithm in all regions, where it reached the highest accuracy values in Alentejo Central region (OA = 92.16% and K = 0.91). The use of open-source tools has enabled high-resolution mapping of forest species in the Mediterranean, democratizing access to research and monitoring. Full article
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