Large-scale Validation of Carbon Stock
and Flux Estimates from Remote Sensing
Richard Birdsey, USDA Forest Service
John Hom, USDA Forest Service
Peter Murdoch, US Geological Survey
Zhi-Liang Zhu, US Geological Survey
Jeff Eidenshink, US Geological Survey
Yude Pan, USDA Forest Service
Dalia Varanka, US Geological Survey
Rachel Riemann, USDA Forest Service
Michael Hoppus, USDA Forest Service
Mike McHale, US Geological Survey
Jennifer Jenkins, U. of Vermont
Kevin McCullough, USDA Forest Service
Arlington, Virginia: March 27, 2003
NASA Grant Enhances
the Delaware River Basin
Collaborative
Environmental
Monitoring and Research
Initiative (CEMRI)
Monitoring at Multiple
Scales to Link Processes
and Observations
Intensive Monitoring Sites:
1.
Neversink River Basin
2.
Delaware Water Gap
3.
French Creek State Park
Overview of Delaware River Basin Pilot
Monitoring Program
• Multi-agency effort to develop an environmental
monitoring framework
– USGS, FS, NPS, NASA, State and local partners
• State-of-the-art application of monitoring technology
at multiple scales
• Issues defined by stakeholders:
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forest health
forest fragmentation
water quality
carbon sequestration
invasive species
Sponsors, Partners, Stakeholders
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USDA Forest Service
US Geological Survey
NASA Earth Sciences
National Park Service
State Departments of Environmental Protection
Delaware River Basin Commission
Environmental education centers
NGOs (e.g. Stroud Center, The Nature Conservancy)
NASA Application Grant Objectives
• Integrate estimates of biomass and NPP from MODIS
and field monitoring
• Characterize patterns of forest fragmentation and land
use change, and associated C losses using Landsat
TM, CIR aerial photography, and field data
• Develop and apply consistent cover type
classifications for MODIS, Landsat TM, and field
samples
• Estimate a complete basin-wide C budget including C
loss by water transport
Summary of Data Sources
• Remote sensing
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MODIS
Landsat TM
AVHRR
Low-altitude CIR aerial photography
• Field data
– Operational USFS forest inventory (FIA/FHM) with
enhancements for ecosystem carbon
– Operational USGS water quality surveys (NAWQA) with
enhancements for water transport of carbon
– National Atmospheric Deposition Network (NADP)
– Historical maps of land use
Summary of Models
• Biome-BGC
– (Steve Running - NPP from MODIS)
• FORCARB estimators
– (Forest Service - forest carbon budgets)
• PnET-CN
– (John Aber - ecosystem processes)
• Sparrow
– (USGS - water quality and carbon transport)
• Data processing and scaling
– Many different statistical estimators
Principal Applications
• Integrate operational land, water, and soil
inventories
• Enhance inventory content and accuracy by
using new remote sensing products
• Provide tools for state and local agencies
responsible for planning development
• Pilot study for North American Carbon
Program….
Multi-tier Monitoring Design
• Tier One – Remote Sensing and
Mapping
 Wall-to-wall coverage; stratification
• Tier Two – Extensive Inventories and
Surveys
Increasing
spatial
resolution
 Representative regional statistical sample
• Tier Three – Condition Sample (new)
 Representative of specified condition classes
• Tier Four –Intensive Areas
 Relatively small number of specific sites
Increasing
temporal
resolution
Illustration of Multi-tier Concept
Example
Variable
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Tier 4
Remote
Sensing
Extensive
Inventory
Condition
Sample
Intensive
Site
Land cover
X
X
X
X
Leaf area
X
X
X
X
Disturbance
X
X
X
X*
X
X
X
Litterfall
X
X
Soil CO2 flux
X
X
Methane flux
X
X
DOC
X
X
Live biomass
NEE
X
* Designed experiments
MODIS Land Classification for
Delaware River Basin
Forest Type Classification for Delaware
River Basin
Land Cover Classification for Delaware
River Basin
Comparison of land
cover classification
from 3 sources:
• MODIS/AVHRR
• Forest type/AVHRR
• NLCD’92/TM
Land cover of
Dingman’s Falls
watershed derived
from various
remote sensors
The “Three Watershed Study” in the Delaware Water Gap
Neversink
Delaware
Water Gap
Fragmentation Study
Watersheds in the Delaware
River Basin – Base Map is
NLCD’92 from TM Data
• Fragmentation estimates from low-altitude
CIR aerial photography
• Water quality data from USGS NAWQA
• 32 watersheds comprise a factorial
experiment: urbanization (5 levels) x EPT
richness (3 levels)
French
Creek
Carbonshed estimates for:
• Neversink
• Delaware Water Gap (3 watersheds)
• French Creek
• Whole Delaware River Basin
Forest Inventory Plots in the Delaware
Water Gap Watersheds (Tier 2)
Delaware Water Gap National
Recreation Area (outlined in red)
Sample Design for Soil CO2 Flux (Tier 3)
Delaware River Basin
Delaware Water Gap
Intensive Site
Select new
sample sites by
forest type and
moisture class
Establish 12
sample locations on
lines between subplots
FIA
plot
design
Expected Results and Products
• Integrated data sets: vegetation/soils/water
from ground and space
• Analytical tools: models for scenario analysis
• “Carbonshed” budgets at several scales
• Improved operational inventories
• Comparison of estimates from MODIS with
ground data
• Science applications meeting with Delaware
River Basin Commission