Forest growing stock volume of the northern hemisphere: Spatially explicit estimates for 2010 derived from Envisat ASAR

This paper presents and assesses spatially explicit estimates of forest growing stock volume (GSV) of the northern hemisphere (north of 10°N) from hyper-temporal observations of Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) backscattered intensity using the BIOMASAR algorithm. Approximately 70,00...

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Published in:Remote sensing of environment Vol. 168; pp. 316 - 334
Main Authors: Santoro, Maurizio, Beaudoin, André, Beer, Christian, Cartus, Oliver, Fransson, Johan E.S., Hall, Ronald J., Pathe, Carsten, Schmullius, Christiane, Schepaschenko, Dmitry, Shvidenko, Anatoly, Thurner, Martin, Wegmüller, Urs
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier Inc 01.10.2015
Subjects:
algorithms
BIOMASAR
Biomass
ecological zones
Environmental Sciences
Envisat ASAR
Forest
forest inventory
Growing stock volume
habitat fragmentation
landscapes
Miljövetenskap
MODIS Vegetation Continuous Fields
Northern hemisphere
remote sensing
synthetic aperture radar
temperate forests
uncertainty
Envisat ASAR
MODIS Vegetation Continuous Fields
Northern hemisphere
BIOMASAR
Forest
Growing stock volume
Biomass
ISSN:0034-4257, 1879-0704, 1879-0704
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Summary:This paper presents and assesses spatially explicit estimates of forest growing stock volume (GSV) of the northern hemisphere (north of 10°N) from hyper-temporal observations of Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) backscattered intensity using the BIOMASAR algorithm. Approximately 70,000 ASAR images at a pixel size of 0.01° were used to estimate GSV representative for the year 2010. The spatial distribution of the GSV across four ecological zones (polar, boreal, temperate, subtropical) was well captured by the ASAR-based estimates. The uncertainty of the retrieved GSV was smallest in boreal and temperate forest (<30% for approximately 80% of the forest area) and largest in subtropical forest. ASAR-derived GSV averages at the level of administrative units were mostly in agreement with inventory-derived estimates. Underestimation occurred in regions of very high GSV (>300m3/ha) and fragmented forest landscapes. For the major forested countries within the study region, the relative RMSE between ASAR-derived GSV averages at provincial level and corresponding values from National Forest Inventory was between 12% and 45% (average: 29%). •Wall-to-wall estimates of forest growing stock volume (GSV) north of 10°N•Spatial distribution of GSV well reproduced in four biomes•Percent error of ASAR-derived GSV averages at provincial level: between 12% and 45%.•Underestimation for areas with GSV>300m3/ha and in fragmented forest landscapes
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ISSN:0034-4257
1879-0704
1879-0704
DOI:10.1016/j.rse.2015.07.005