UNINOVA – Instituto de Desenvolvime (PT)
Development of a novel methodology capable of mapping the Belowground Biomass Density (BGBD), Litter Biomass Density (LBD), and Shrub Biomass Density (SBD) combining Earth Observation (EO) data from the Sentinel and ALOS-2/PALSAR-2 missions. Large-scale mapping of these biomass pools is still not done, unlike the Aboveground Biomass Density (AGBD), since it usually relies in Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) campaigns.
Despite the use of the current AGBD large-scale maps as a flagship indicators in the monitoring of climate change effects and carbon cycle dynamics, a more complete analysis can be achieved if the other biomass pools are not neglected. Therefore, an objective this project is the generation of total biomass maps, by integrating the ones produced with Climate Change Initiative (CCI) Biomass AGBD map.
In addition to the support on the climate change monitoring, the objective is also to provide important information for addressing the problem of wildfires. The biomass pool maps for Portugal and Spain will then be produced, using the proposed methodology, as a demonstration of its applicability. This innovative methodology will include image processing techniques and combine features sets, not commonly used for biomass mapping. The objective of this is to drastically decrease the amount of data needed to calibrate regressors for these variables, enabling the use of sparse calibration sets or data from spaceborne LiDAR sensors.
