Biomass Estimation for Boreal Forests Using Field, Lidar and L-band Sar Data

The coupling of LIDAR and SAR for vegetation structure has been investigated in several terrestrial biomes [7, 4, 6]. In this paper, we explore the measurement of biomass in boreal forests. This ecosystem was selected since the boreal biome is environmentally important, yet significantly under-sampled. The boreal forest biome consists of a circumpolar region lying above 50o–60o latitude and extending through northern Russia (Siberia), Scandinavia, Canada, and Alaska. It is characterized by low temperatures and dominated by cold-tolerant coniferous tree species such as pine, fir, and spruce. Boreal forests are estimated to cover 9% of the Earth’s land surface, but they contain a disproportionate share (23%) of the world’s total carbon [3]. Although most of the carbon in cold boreal forests is stored in the soil, there are important interactions between forest canopy dynamics and below-ground soil processes. Therefore, remote sensing means to determine unbiased estimates of boreal biomass can play a significant role in our understanding of global carbon processes.