MULTI-SCALE MAPPING OF FOREST GROWING STOCK VOLUME USING ENVISAT ASAR, ALOS PALSAR, LANDSAT, AND ICESAT GLAS

摘要

Multi-scale approaches for mapping aboveground biomass globally are evaluated that exploit the multitemporal archive of low-resolution (1 km) ENVISAT ASAR C-band observations and ca. 30 m resolution ALOS PALSAR L-band and Landsat mosaics. The BIOMASAR algorithm, which was initially developed for ENVISAT ASAR C-band data and boreal forest [1], is deployed to map growing stock volume, a proxy for aboveground biomass, globally at 1 km resolution. We explore different options for improving ASAR based maps using high resolution data. Two approaches are pursued: 1) the BIOMASAR algorithm adopted for Lband, 2) a simple re-scaling of ASAR derived estimates of growing stock volume from 1 km pixel posting to 30 m using PALSAR and Landsat data [2]. The initial results for different forest ecosystems suggest that both approaches allow for improved estimates, albeit with the expected limitations in high biomass forests.