Estimating aboveground biomass in native forests using remote sensing data combined with spectral radiometry in Salta, Argentina

MANRIQUE S.; NUÑEZ, V.; FRANCO, J.

GeoFocus

Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles

Lugar: Madrid; Año: 2012 vol. 12 p. 349 - 373

1578-5157

The management of forests as carbon (C) reservoirs could be a valid strategy for mitigating global climate change. In Salta, Argentina, there is an urgent need for updated information on biomass stocks in order to assess the C sequestering and release made ​by native forests. We studied three ecosystems (Chaco, Yungas and shrubland) by combining different data: a) field-estimated above-ground biomass (AGB); b) field-spectral data and c) spectral data from remote sensing. AGB was estimated through allometric equations. Radiometric measurements were synthesized into a set of spectral vegetation indices (VI). The satellite data was calibrated with those obtained through field radiometry, allowing us to find a predictive AGB model which indicates an AGB average of 85 ± 250 t/ha for the center of the province of Salta. The model which was finally selected increases the level of estimate detail made at the national level and will allow the monitoring of such data.