Mapping Tropical Aboveground Biomass with MODIS & LiDAR sensors: Application to REDD

Nadine Laporte Woods Hole Research Center

A. Baccini, W. Walker, S. Goetz, M. Sun, J. Kellndorfer

Atelier International sur la foresterie communautaire, Quebec, October 2011

Why measuring terrestrial carbon stocks ?

Emissions from fossil fuels (~75% annual CO2 emissions) Emissions from LULCC (~25% annual CO2 emissions)

REDD is a mechanism to help reduce CO2 emissions from LULCC and to preserve the existing forest carbon stock

CO2 Emissons from Land use change and Industry

Sources of emissons in the tropics

Deforestation for Agriculture, pasture ( food production)
Pasture Energy Consumption

Agriculture Satellite image monitoring

Degradation (Logging, fuel wood)

Logging

Deforestation

Logging Logging

Degradation From few meters to 1km resolution

Deforestation & Degradation

+CO2

+CO2

How do we map carbon ?

What is unique ?

Satellite information

Forest inventories collected at selected GLAS location with collaborators

MODIS ( 500 , 1000 m) SPOT, Landsat Lidar Information from GLAS ICESAT satellite

Field observations network & calibration

~300 locations > 24000 trees measured

Columbia Ecuador Bolivia Brazil

Gabon DRC Uganda Tanzania Zambia

Vietnam Cambodia Indonesia

Variables collected:
Tree DBH (> 5 cm) Vegetation type Topography Soil Characterization Canopy cover Tallest tree height Understory type

Field plot database

Chave 2005 Allometry

From tree measurement to biomass/ carbon estimates

Where do we measure trees ? For GLAS location

Budongo

Color Composite SPOT 5 (2.5 m)

Budongo Forest Reserve

Co-located Field Measurements/Lidar Shots

Biomass = 252 (t/ha)

Biomass = 205 (t/ha)

Biomass = 78 (t/ha)

a
Biomass = 30 (t/ha)

Field Campaign with Local team (110 plots)

Workshops in Africa, SE Asia and south America

12

WHRC Capacity-building Workshops

Viet Nam 2009

Uganda 2008

DRC 2010

Bolivia 2009

Building Capacity in Forest Measurement and Monitoring

I. Pan-tropical Forest Scholars Program:
15 scholars/11 countries: Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, Viet Nam, Indonesia and Lao PDR.

II.

Technical workshops in Forest Measurement /Mapping:

Latin America (Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia) Indigenous representatives from COICA / CONFENIAE / OPIAC / CIDOB 80 participants/3 countries Africa (Uganda Rwnada & DRC) Government and NGO technicians 70 participants/ 10 countries
S.E. Asia (Vietnam) Government and NGO technicians 30 participants/7 countries

TOTAL: 180 participants/20 countries

Available Carbon maps- WHRC website

http://www.whrc.org/mapping/pantropical/carbonmap2000.html

The tree model explained 82% of the variance in aboveground biomass density, with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 25 tC/ha (Baccini et al, 2008 ERL)

Improved Direct Estimation compared to Classify & Multiply approach using Land Cover

AG Biomass

Lidar Height Metric

AG Biomass Lidar Height Metric Source: Goetz et al. (2009) Carbon Balance and Management

Pan-tropical Map of Forest Carbon (2007)

Fusion of MODIS, GLAS LiDAR and Field Data

Amazon Basin

Dem. Rep. of Congo

Baccini et al., 2009, Pan-Tropical Forest Carbon Mapped with Satellite and Field Observations, WHRC, COP15, http://www.whrc.org

Tanzania 2007

New 500 m resolution MODIS GLAS

Rwanda 2007

Kigali, June 20, 2011

Kenya 2007

New 500 m resolution MODIS GLAS derived map

Kenya Biomass map 2007 map

In Collaboration with Kenya FS & the GreenBelt Movement

SPOT5 derived Biomass Uganda-Budongo

Input data : SPOT imagery and

forest inventories

r:0.9 RMSE: 25 MgC/ha

Biomass
DRC= 17 Billion t C

Deforestation

(tC/ha)

(ha)
Bali Report, 2007

Annual emissions
226 million t of CO2 = 60 millions de t C

Historical CO2 Emissions 1990/2000

Biomasse

Defor.

CO2

Linformation sur le deboisement nai pas suffisant

Besoin destimer aussi la biomasse Pour le calcul des emissions DRC: C02 Emissions brutes 1990-2000

Few recommendations on Forest Measurement and Monitoring for REDD

Maps of carbon / Aboveground biomass available:
Pan-tropics, 500 m resolution Africa 1km

2007 from MODIS/GLAS/forest inventories

Total Carbon 229 Pg C S America 118 Pg C (8.4) Aafrica 65 Pg C(8.4) Asia 47Pg C(3.0) (Baccini et al, Nature Geosicence, submitted)

2007 from MODIS & forest inventories

model explained 82% of the variance in above-ground biomass density, with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 25 tC/ha (Baccini et al, 2008 ERL)

Few recommendations on C monitoring systems

Data sets ( RS/ field surveys) Check the availability imagery for the entire country (wall to wall is recomended) Check availability of historical imagery (1990 2000) to compute your emission baseline Plan to collect field data sets for your land cover /deforestation/ biomass mapping work Methods to derive CO2 estimates Many methods are available some are spatially explicit other not, we recommend spatial model like:
Dinamica model allow you to derive future emission based on historical baseline of deforestation

 Institutional capacity ?
Which monitoring system is the best for your country ? Do you have the institutional capacity go step by step Identify partners to assist you with training (Universities, NGOS, etc)

Estimate the cost of the monitoring system

- Discuss with countries with operational systems Brazil, India etc. Collaborate with other countries to insure to get the data sets you need at the lowest price and coordinate regional training etc.. to lower your costs Make sure the system you will implement will also help with other on going national or regional programs (forest management, Ag policies ), or mechanism like CDM Evaluate new technological tools for forest inventories that can be used by forest communities

Think about long term and participatory

Remember that you need to relate the emissions or reduction of emissions to the source or the actors of deforestation so you need to develop a systems in collaboartion with economists/ rural development specialists or you might be developing systems that will not provide the information you need to compensate the actors and verify compliance for the carbon markets or funds carbon registry etc.

Woods Hole Research Center Pan-Tropical Forest Mapping Project

Carbon mapping: Nadine Laporte, Alesandro Baccini, Scott Goetz, Wayne Walker, Skee Houghton, Pieter Beck, Gillian Galdford
Forest mapping: Josef Kellndorfer, Wayne Walker, Oliver Cartus, Tina Cormier, Jesse Bishop, Greg Fiske Capacity Building: Nadine Laporte, Alesandro Baccini, Scott Goetz, Walker, Skee Houghton, Glenn Bush, Greg Fiske, Chloe Starr IT team: Denise Kergo & Stanley Hammond Many collaborators: Ned Horning (AMNH), Paola Mekui (Gabon Forest Service), Britaldo Soares ( University Bel Horizonte -Brazil) etc.

Acknowledgements

Forestry Dept, NGOs and forest communities for their assistance with field work and the workshops

NASA and the Moore, Google & Packard foundations for support
Planet Action for providing SPOT imagery

Merci !

Nadine Laporte

WHRC nlaporte@whrc.org

Kigali, June 20, 2011