The use of ALOS PALSAR for supporting sustainable forest use in southern Africa: A case study in Malawi

Author

Cassells, G.F. ; Woodhouse, I.H. ; Mitchard, E.T.A. ; Tembo, M.D.

Author_Institution

Sch. of Geosci., Univ. of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

Volume

2

fYear

2009

fDate

12-17 July 2009

Abstract

Malawi is facing a forest loss crisis with demand far outstripping sustainable supply. Recent projections suggest that there will be no primary forest left in Malawi by 2020. One possibly method to support forest protection has come from the proposed introduction of REDD (Reductions in Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) schemes into the next international climate protocol. This study aims to assess the ability of ALOS PALSAR for providing biomass estimates in miombo woodland in Malawi. No correlation has been found between ALOS PALSAR backscatter and a number of different forest parameters including biomass, stem diameter at 1.3 meters (dbh), stem volume, and the BCI (Biomass Consolidation Index).

Keywords

spaceborne radar; synthetic aperture radar; vegetation mapping; AD 2020; ALOS PALSAR; Biomass Consolidation Index; Malawi; REDD; Reductions in Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation; biomass estimates; forest loss; forest protection; international climate protocol; miombo woodland; southern Africa; stem diameter; stem volume; sustainable forest use; Africa; Backscatter; Biomass; Computer aided software engineering; Degradation; Geology; Laser radar; Phased arrays; Protocols; Radar imaging; ALOS PALSAR; Africa; Forests; REDD;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium,2009 IEEE International,IGARSS 2009

Conference_Location

Cape Town

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-3394-0

Electronic_ISBN

978-1-4244-3395-7

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IGARSS.2009.5418042

Filename

5418042