The comparison of the estimation of the biomass of tropical forest vegetation with the different forest stand age by using multi-variant linear regression

The estimation of the biomass of tropical forest vegetation is very important for global change research. The estimation is explored by using multi-variant linear regression in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province, P.R.of China. It includes four steps. Firstly, the biomass for each sample is calculated by using the field inventory data of each sample. Secondly, the remote sensing data including Landsat TM data and its derived data, the topographic data such as DEM, slope and aspect, and the climatic data such as temperature and precipitation are referenced to the same projection and coordination. Thirdly, all of the data are stratified as the young forest, the middle-age forest, the near mature forest and the mature forest. Finally, multi-variant regression analysis is used to estimate the biomass for each forest. It is shown that higher accuracy can be obtained for the near mature forest and the mature forest compared to the young forest and the middle-age forest.