Following the previous post,
today, we will see another research that shows a nice example of the LiDAR use
to measure the carbon above the ground.
The biomass above the ground is
crucial for the ecosystem playing major role in carbon storage, forest creation
and soil productivity (Bi,
Turner & Lambert 2004). However, the problem is that we can’t measure
the carbon stock on the ground surface around the Earth directly (Houghton,
Hall & Goetz 2009). Remote sensing can give solution to this problem by
monitoring the biomass over a large territory (Avitabile
et al. 2012).
On the other hand, if someone wants
to take advantage of
the remote sensing technologies like the one
referred in the previous post, he will need ground measurements to calibrate
and validate the data from the remote sensing process.
A research from Kim
Calders et al (2014) shows how LiDAR can be applied on ground measurements. The laser is able to scan the canopy, thus,
they developed a procedure to calculate the biomass above the ground level.
They manage to correlate the terrestrial laser scanning with the measurements
from the field concluding that the biomass is not evenly distributed in the
plants.
This study shows that the diameter
at breast height can be measured, the tree heights and estimate the biomass
above the ground using remote sensing technologies. The results coming from the
comparison between them and the field measurements give an effective validation
(Calders
et al. 2014).
That is an interesting research
that demonstrates (in combination with the previous post) the benefits of using
this technology. In this way, researchers are able to acquire greater
understanding of functions such as the carbon sequestration, storage and fluxes.
Consequently, LIDAR biomass could even be used so as to explore the carbon
cycle which would also respond as a solution of the well-known problem of
global warming.
Next post: the soil carbon,
see you!
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