Satellite biomass calculations questioned
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.027900
New Scientist : Satellite measurements of tree growth are a commonly used tool for estimating biomass and carbon storage for projects such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). Edward Mitchard of the University of Edinburgh, UK, and his colleagues used ground-level data collected by the Amazon Forest Inventory Network to calculate the biomass in 400 areas throughout the rainforest. They compared those calculations with satellite estimates of those same areas and found that many of the satellite maps were off by more than 25%, despite advertised uncertainties of just 5%. The ground-level data also revealed a gradient through the river basin that satellites couldn’t show because they only measure canopy height and not tree density.
