The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) compiles and monitors
national-level biomass estimates across the world s forests through the Global Forest
Resources Assessment (FRA). FRA reports represent the current state of knowledge
regarding key forest parameters as expressed by national forest agencies and ministries
worldwide. Data collected in the FRA is important to UN initiatives such as REDD
(Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), which depend upon accurate,
precise, and consistent national-level reporting of forest carbon storage. The proposed
work would establish a satellite-based NASA CMS global inventory of aboveground tree
biomass (a primary component of overall biomass) as an official component of FAO s
FRA 2015. Methods for this inventory were developed during the CMS pilot phase
though a partnership between members of the CMS national biomass pilot team and
representatives of the national forest inventory (FIA: US Forest Service s Forest
Inventory and Analysis unit) on the CMS Science Definition Team.
Discrete full waveform lidar footprints from the GLAS (Geoscience Laser Altimeter
System aboard ICESat) are strongly correlated with aboveground tree biomass, and are
here used in a survey/sample context as the basis for the CMS/FAO global biomass
inventory. Based upon CMS pilot results, this approach is likely to provide an improvement in the precision of biomass estimates for countries without established
national forest inventories, and its global consistency should enhance inter-comparability
of biomass stocks across all nations. This inventory would be based upon model-based
estimation, an approach which provides clear estimates of biomass and related
uncertainty, accounting for both the variance of the sample and variance introduced by
modeling biomass at each GLAS shot.
FAO will coordinate global compilation of the ground data needed from national forestry
agencies for calibration of models to be used in this inventory. A series of approximately
10 regional workshops will be held for national forest inventory representatives from
around the world in 2013. At each workshop, time will be dedicated to engage
participating countries in the needed data sharing. Almost all costs associated with this
effort (including travel and lodging for many participants) will be borne by FAO. In
addition to providing country- and global-level forest biomass estimates, this project will
publish relationships between GLAS heights and field-measured biomass, which may be
of use to other CMS efforts using GLAS data to calibrate wall-to-wall maps.
Lastly, there is a forward-looking element which involves forecasting the precision of
this inventory approach using lidar data from the ICESat-2 satellite (launch: 2016).
Collection of ground data by this project will be coordinated with the ICESat-2 Science
Team, which is programming overflights of GLAS shots by MABEL (an ICESat-2
simulation platform) and airborne lidar. Taken together, the components of the proposed
project will: 1) develop a global CMS aboveground forest biomass product; 2) establish it
as a critical monitoring asset within the FAO FRA monitoring process; and 3) assess its
sustainability in view of upcoming NASA missions. The proposed work includes a good
deal of in-kind salary contribution from the Forest Service, and there is a 55/45 balance
of funding to non-federal/federal entities. Sean Healey, FIA s remote sensing
representative to FAO and a member of the CMS Science Definition Team, is nominated
for membership on the CMS Science Team.
Contact Support to request an email list of project participants.
Project URL(s):
None provided.
Data Products:
Product Title: CMS: GLAS LiDAR-derived Global Estimates of Forest Canopy Height, 2004-2008
Start Date: 10/2004End Date: 11/2004 (2004-2008)
Description: This data set provides estimates of forest canopy height derived from the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) LiDAR instrument that was aboard the NASA Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation (ICESat) satellite. A global GLAS waveform data set (n=12,336,553) from collection periods between October 2004 and March 2008 was processed to obtain canopy height estimates.Estimates of GLAS maximum canopy height and crown-area-weighted Lorey's height are provided for 18,578 statistically-selected globally distributed forested sites in a point shapefile. Country is included as a site attribute.Also provided is the average canopy height for the forested area of each country, plus the number of GLAS data footprints (shots), number of selected sample sites, and estimates of the variance for each country.
Status: Archived
CMS Science Theme(s): Land Biomass
Keywords: Uncertainties & Standard Errors
Spatial Extent: Global
Spatial Resolution:
Temporal Frequency:
Input Data Products: ICESat GLAS, inventory information volunteered by contributing countries
Algorithm/Models Used: Model-based estimation
Evaluation:
Intercomparison Efforts/Gaps:
Uncertainty Estimates: We have a straightforward variance estimator, based on sample theory, that will provide credible confidence intervals for our country- and global-level estimates.
Relevant Policies/Programs: 2015 Global Forest Resources Assessment, Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), FIA, ICESat-2 Science Mission
Potential Users: UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), USFS, SilvaCarbon, and any country that needs the baseline data in order to improve its forest inventory system
Stakeholders:
Current Application Readiness Level: 7
Start Application Readiness Level: 3
Target Application Readiness Level: 9
Future Developments: - Engage with the ICESat-2 science team to ensure the endurance of the data products in the future. ; - Promote the data products at the SilvaCarbon event in Central Africa in April 2014.; - Attend multi-lateral meetings to solicit ground data for calibra
Limitations: - No spatial maps.; - No temporal variability, just one biomass density estimate centered around 2005.; - Data that is at least 8 years old.
Archived Data Citation: Healey, S.P., M.W. Hernandez, D.P. Edwards, M.A. Lefsky, E. Freeman, P.L. Patterson, E.J. Lindquist, and A.J. Lister. 2015. CMS: GLAS LiDAR-derived Global Estimates of Forest Canopy Height, 2004-2008. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA DOI: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1271
Bounding Coordinates:
West Longitude:
-161.41000
East Longitude:
179.89000
North Latitude:
69.29000
South Latitude:
-55.45000
Product Title: CMS: GLAS LiDAR-derived Global Estimates of Forest Canopy Height, 2004-2008
Start Date: 10/2004End Date: 11/2004 (2004-2008)
Description: This data set provides estimates of forest canopy height derived from the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) LiDAR instrument that was aboard the NASA Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation (ICESat) satellite. A global GLAS waveform data set (n=12,336,553) from collection periods between October 2004 and March 2008 was processed to obtain canopy height estimates.Estimates of GLAS maximum canopy height and crown-area-weighted Lorey's height are provided for 18,578 statistically-selected globally distributed forested sites in a point shapefile. Country is included as a site attribute.Also provided is the average canopy height for the forested area of each country, plus the number of GLAS data footprints (shots), number of selected sample sites, and estimates of the variance for each country.
Input Data Products: ICESat GLAS, inventory information volunteered by contributing countries
Algorithm/Models Used: Model-based estimation
Evaluation: Estimates can be compared with field-based estimates in countries with an established national forest inventory
Intercomparison Efforts/Gaps: Authors of the UN Forest Resources Assessment, together with country correspondents, will determine whether to include our estimate, an estimate from a dedicated national forest inventory, or an international default.
Uncertainty Estimates: We have a straightforward variance estimator, based on sample theory, that will provide credible confidence intervals for our country- and global-level estimates.
Relevant Policies/Programs: 2015 Global Forest Resources Assessment, Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), FIA, ICESat-2 Science Mission
Potential Users: UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), USFS, SilvaCarbon, and any country that needs the baseline data in order to improve its forest inventory system
Stakeholders:
Current Application Readiness Level: 7
Start Application Readiness Level: 3
Target Application Readiness Level: 9
Future Developments: - Engage with the ICESat-2 science team to ensure the endurance of the data products in the future. ; - Promote the data products at the SilvaCarbon event in Central Africa in April 2014.; - Attend multi-lateral meetings to solicit ground data for calibration
Limitations: - No spatial maps.; - No temporal variability, just one biomass density estimate centered around 2005.; - Data that is at least 8 years old.
Archived Data Citation: Healey, S.P., M.W. Hernandez, D.P. Edwards, M.A. Lefsky, E. Freeman, P.L. Patterson, E.J. Lindquist, and A.J. Lister. 2015. CMS: GLAS LiDAR-derived Global Estimates of Forest Canopy Height, 2004-2008. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA DOI: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1271
Bounding Coordinates:
West Longitude:
-161.41000
East Longitude:
179.89000
North Latitude:
69.29000
South Latitude:
-55.45000
Publications:
Birdsey, Richard A.; Dugan, Alexa J.; Healey, Sean P.; Dante-Wood, Karen; Zhang, Fangmin; Mo, Gang; Chen, Jing M.; Hernandez, Alexander J.; Raymond, Crystal L.; McCarter, James. 2019. Assessment of the influence of disturbance, management activities, and environmental factors on carbon stocks of U.S. national forests. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-402. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 116 pages plus appendices.
Healey, S. P., Patterson, P. L., Saatchi, S., Lefsky, M. A., Lister, A. J., Freeman, E. A. 2012. A sample design for globally consistent biomass estimation using lidar data from the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS). Carbon Balance and Management. 7(1). DOI: 10.1186/1750-0680-7-10
Archived Data Citations:
Healey, S.P., M.W. Hernandez, D.P. Edwards, M.A. Lefsky, E. Freeman, P.L. Patterson, E.J. Lindquist, and A.J. Lister. 2015. CMS: GLAS LiDAR-derived Global Estimates of Forest Canopy Height, 2004-2008. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA DOI: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1271
2015 NASA Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems Joint Science Workshop Poster(s)
The New Forest Carbon Accounting Framework of the US and NASA Carbon Cycle Science: Identifying Concomitant Knowledge Gaps and Research Opportunities
-- (Sean P Healey, Christopher W. Woodall, Grant M Domke, John Coulston, Brian F Walters, James A Smith, Andy Gray)
[abstract]
2013 NASA Terrestrial Ecology Science Team Meeting Poster(s)
The Global Forest Biomass Inventory
-- (Sean P Healey, Erik Lindquist, Paul Patterson, Sassan Saatchi, Michael Lefsky, Michael Hernandez, Alicia Peduzzi)
[abstract]