Among the most important initiatives being implemented by the Ukrainian Land and Resource Management Center (ULRMC), those related to the studies of carbon balance are prioritized in Ukraine in view of recent ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. Satellite imagery is widely applied for determining interactions between carbon cycle, land cover/ land use change and climate variability. Remote sensing is a highly efficient tool for studying impacts on carbon cycle changes, particularly for fire monitoring, detecting and assessing burned areas, estimating forest cover and differentiating forest types, as well as defining changes in land use. Monitoring and assessing the movement of carbon dioxide (CO2) into and out of the atmosphere is important for understanding carbon sinks and sources. The mathematical models informed by RS data are applied to estimate the total amount of carbon release and subsequent loss of carbon sequestration capacity. Ongoing researches are aimed at promoting the RS application in Ukraine for assessing the impacts of land cover/ land use change on the carbon cycle, as driven by economic conditions and the governmental policy, and as consistent with international commitments such as the Kyoto Protocol.
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