IKONOS imagery for the Large Scale Biosphere–Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA)

The LBA-ECO program is one of several international research components under the Brazilian-led Large Scale Biosphere–Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA). The field-oriented research activities of this study are organized along transects and include a set of primary field sites, where the major objective is to study land-use change and ecosystem dynamics, and a smaller set of 15 operational eddy flux tower sites, where the major objective is to quantify net exchange of CO2 with the atmosphere. To supplement these studies and help to address issues of fine-scale spatial heterogeneity and scaling, high-resolution satellite imagery (IKONOS, 1–4 m) have been acquired over some of these study sites. This paper begins with a description of the acquisition strategy and IKONOS holdings for LBA. This section is followed with a review of some of the most promising new applications of these data in LBA.