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Astepbystepguidetomakingmapsofvegetationcarbonstocks|Deforestationwatch

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EdMitchard'sblogaboutmonitoringtropicaldeforestationfromgroundandspace

Astepbystepguidetomakingmapsof
vegetationcarbonstocks
PostedonApril25,2013
Afollowonfromthe5thBuildingCarbonBridgesacrossAfricaworkshop
IvejustcomebackfromleadingatrainingworkshopinAccra,Ghana,aspartoftheBuilding
CarbonBridgesacrossAfricaproject.Formethiswasaveryusefulandinformativeworkshop,and
Ihopeverymuchthatthe12participantsfromAfricangovernmentministriesandforestry
departmentslearnedsomeusefulnewskills.Imwritingthisblogposttosharesomeofthetraining
Iconductedinthatworkshopmorewidely.

IwanttostartbyexplainingabitabouttheBuildingCarbonBridgesinitiative.BuildingCarbon
BridgesisoneofanincreasingnumberofSouthSouthcollaborationsforREDD+,fundedby
westernorganisations.Ghanahasrecentlydevelopedahighresolutioncarbonmap,andhas
considerableexpertiseonotheraspectsoftheMonitoring,ReportingandValidation(MRV)process,
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creatingregistries,andintegratingsubnationalprojects(nesting).Thisprojectwassetuptoallow
GhanatoshareitsknowledgewithsomeEastAfricancountries(Ethiopia,Kenya,Uganda&
Tanzania)andNigeria.BuildingCarbonBridgeswasfundedbytheClintonClimateInitiativeandrun
byGhanasNatureConservationResearchCentre(NCRC)inpartnershipwiththeCommonMarket
forEastandSouthernAfrica(COMESA).
Thisworkshop,the5thandfinalintheseries,wasrunbyNCRCandGhanasForestry
CommissionandheldintheexcellentremotesensingtrainingfacilityintheCenterforRemote
SensingandGeographicInformationSystemsintheUniversityofGhana.Ididthemajorityofthe
teachingattheworkshop,butsessionswerealsoledbyRebeccaAsareandWinstonAsanteof
NCRC.
BelowIsummarisesomeofwhatwediscussedoverthe3dayworkshopinparticularIwillgo
overlinkstosomeexistingdatasets,discusshowtheycanbeused,andintroducetheconceptsof
howyoucandevelopyourowncarbonmaps.
Whycarbonmaps?
So,whywouldyouneedamapofvegetationcarbon?Icanthinkofseveralreasons,thatapply
whetheryouareresponsibleforasmallforestreserve,aforestconcession,acommunityforest,a
provinceortheforest/environmentalresourcesofawholecountry:
1.Mappingcarbonoveryourareaofinterestgivesyouanestimateofthetotalcarbonlockedup
inthevegetation.Thiscarbonhasconsiderablyvaluetotheworld:ifitisreleasedtothe
atmosphereitwillcontributetoclimatechange.Onlybymeasuringthisassetcanitbevalued.
Forestshavemuchmoretooffertheworldthanjusttheircarbonstores(ecosystemservices
includingfloodprotection,raingeneration,evaporativecooling,andtheirstoreofbiodiversity),
buttheircarboncanbeeasilymeasuredanddoingsoprovidesapartofthecasefortheir
preservation.
2.Carbonmapsshowtheareasofhighandlowbiomasswithinaregion.Thisallowseffortsat
forestprotectiontobetargetedtothehighercarbonareas,orpotentialcanprovideawarning
signofareassubjecttodegradation.
3.Repeatcarbonmaps(forexampleannually,oreveryfiveyears)allowcalculationsofnet
changesincarbonstocks.Thesenetchangenumbersdirectlyrelatetopaymentsunder
REDD+orcarbonsequestrationschemes,andalsocanbeusedtosetuphistoricalbaselines
forcarbonstockchanges.
Whyremotesensing?
Theonlywaytoaccuratelyestimatetheabovegroundbiomassofaforestistosetupfieldinventory
plots,measuringthediameterandidentifyingthespeciesofeverystem(usuallyaboveaminimum
sizeof10cm,assmalltreesdonotcontributemuchtobiomass),andmeasuretheheightofa
subset.Standardmethodologiesexistforthis,forexampleasdescribedinthe
RAINFORPlotEstablishmentandRemeasurementManual.

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However,mostfieldplotsonlycover1hectare(oroftenless),andareverytimeintensiveand
expensivetosetup.Remotesensingallowsthewholelandscapetobesampledequally,regularly,
andwithlittleornocosttotheuser.Onlyremotesensingcanprovidethecontinuousandregular
viewofalandscapeessentialforcarbonstockmonitoring.Butremotesensinginstrumentsdonot
directlymeasurebiomasstheyonlyprovideindirectestimates.Sofielddataremainsessential
theguidanceforforestcarbonprojectsisclearlythatremotesensingandfielddatashouldbe
combined(forexampleasstatedintheexcellentGOFCGOLDsourcebook,theauthorityon
estimatingandreportingcarbonstocks.).

Definitionsandunits
Beforewestart,weshouldclearupsomedefinitions:
AbovegroundBiomass(AGB):thisistheovendrymassofallabovegroundlivingplant
materialinaplot.Oftenintheliteratureonlystems>10cmdiameter(DBH)areincludedin
calculationsofAGBthisisfineinmostforestecosystemsasmostbiomassisheldinthe
largetrees,butbeforereportingresultsacorrectionfactormustbemadetoaccountfor
seedlings,shrubsandsmalltrees.Unitsarenormallyintonnesperhectare(Mgha1 )
Carbonstocks:carbonmakesupapproximately50%ofplantbiomass,andsobiomasscan
beconvertedtocarbonbymultiplyingby0.5.Stocksoveralandscapearenormallyexpressed
inunitsofcarbon,notbiomass,asthismakesmoresensewhencollatingothercarbonpools
notcoveredhere(e.g.soilcarbon).NormalunitsareMgC,TgCorPgC,dependingonthesize
ofareabeingmeasured.
tCO2 e:thisisthenumberoftonnesofcarbondioxidethatwouldhavethesameglobal
warmingpotentialasthematerialbeingdiscussed.Inourcasethisiseasytocalculate:we
simplymultiplythenumberoftonnes(Mg)ofcarbonby3.667.tCO2 eareusefulwhen
comparingdifferenttypesofcarbonproject,asthepreventionofemissionofothergreenhouse
gases(e.g.methane)canbeconvertedtotheirCO2 equivalent.

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ImagefromUNPhoto/PauloFilgueiras.

Whatexistingbiomassmapsareavailable?
Therearetworelativelyhighresolutionmapsofcarbonstockscoveringthetropicsthatcanbe
freelydownloadedbyprojectsandused.Abriefsummaryofhowtheyarederivedissummarisedin
awebsiteIwrotehere.
ThefirstwasdevelopedbySassanSaatchiandhiscollaborators,andwaspublishedin2011inthe
journalProceedingsoftheNationalAcademyofSciences.Alinktotheoriginalarticlecanbe
foundhere.IshoulddeclareaninterestatthispointIassistedindevelopingthismapduringmy
PhD,andamanauthoronthepaper.
ThesecondwasdevelopedbyAlessandroBacciniandwaspublishedinthejournalNatureClimate
Changein2012.Alinktotheoriginalarticlecanbefoundhere.
Ihavedevelopedasimplewebtoolthatallowsyoutovisualise,compareandquerythemaps.I
havebloggedaboutthistoolbefore.Alternatively,theauthorshavemadetherawdataforboth
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theirmapsavailableonlinetoanyuser.TheSaatchietal.mapisavailablehere,theBacciniet
al.maphere.

Somecountrylevelmapsalsoexist,forexampleGhanahasproduceditsown100mresolution
map,buttheseareunfortunatelyrarelyfreelyavailableonline.
Simplemapcomparisons
Thesedifferentcarbonmapscanbedirectlycomparedusingthewebtooldescribedabove.
However,todomoredetailedcomparisonsandcreatemaps,youwillneedtousearemotesensing
orGISsoftwarepackage.ThereareanumberofopensourceGISsystemsthatarepowerfuland
easytouse,including(innoparticularorder)GRASS,SAGA,andQGIS.Therearealsocommercial
packages:ArcGISisthemostwidelyusedGISsoftwarepackage,andduetoitsubiquitythiswas
usedfortheworkshop.Mostsuitedtodevelopingcarbonmapsaretrueremotesensingpackages,
thatcaneasilyopen,manipulateandanalysesatellitedatasets.IuseIDLENVIformyresearch,
andanotherpackageswithsimilarcapabilitiesareERDASIMAGINEandIDRISI.
Anyoftheabovepackagesshouldenableyoutoopenthecarbonmapsdescribedaboveand:
Createoutputmapsoveranareaofinterestusingthesamestretch.
Extractthemeanandtotalbiomassoveryourareaofinterest,orasubset
Createmapsofthedifferencesbetweenmaps(usingtheRasterCalculatororsimilarfunction
tosubtractonemapfromtheother)
Usealandcovermap(seebelow)todiscoverthemeanbiomassofdifferentlandcovertypes,
andfromthatuseaspreadsheettoestimatethelikelycarbonlosses(orpossiblygains)that
wouldresultfromlandcoverchange.Forexample,ifyourbroadleavedforestclasscover
1000haandhadanabovegroundbiomassof300Mgha1 ,andfarmlandhadanAGBof0Mg
ha1 ,ifyoulost10%offorest(i.e.100ha)youcouldcalculatethatyouwouldlose300x100
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=30,000tonnesofbiomass,or15,000tonnesofcarbon,orand54,900tCO2 e(confused
abouttheunits?Seethedefinitionssectionsabove).

ComparisonoftwocarbonmapsoverUgandafromBCB5trainingworkshop.Notethesimilarities
(thelocationofhighbiomassareasaresimilar)anddifferences(e.g.morehighbiomassforestin
theSWinBaccinietal.map).

Creationofmapsfromlandcoverclassifications
Ifyouwouldliketobuildyourowncarbonmaps,ratherthanrelyonpublisheddatasets,oneofthe
simplestwayistousealandcoverclassification,andassigncarbonvaluestodifferentlandcover
classes.Youmayalreadyhavealandcovermapforyourregion/country,oryoucandownloadan
existingone.Twothatarewidelyusedare:
1.theGlobalLandcover2000(GLC2000)dataset,whichwasa1kmresolutiondataset
developedfortheyear2000.Thedatacanbedownloadedhere.
2.theEuropeanSpaceAgency(ESA)GlobCoverproduct,whichis300mresolutionandis
availablefortheyears2005and2009.Thedatasetscanbedownloadedhere.
Inordertocreateabiomassmapfromalandcovermapyouneedestimatesofthebiomassofeach
class.Thesearebestobtainedbylocatingalargenumberoffieldplotswithineachclassifthatis
notpossiblethenafirstguesscanbemadebymatchingthelandcovertypestovaluesinstandard
tables,forexampleinforestinventoryorFAOForestResourceAssessment(FRA)reportsforyour
country,thevaluesinAnnexe3oftheIPCCsGoodPracticeGuidanceonLandUse,LandUse
ChangeandForestry.
ThenabiomassmapcanbecreatedusingyourGISpackage,byassigninganAGBvaluetoeach
classusingaReclassTable(orsimilardependingonyoursoftware).

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Hereisanexamplemapproducedattheworkshop:

BotswanabiomassmapfromGLC2000landcovermapandIPCCvalues

Asyoucanseemapsproducedusingthismethodareblocky,havingapaintingbynumberslook.
Thisisbecauseratherthaneachpixelbeinggivenauniquevalue,eachclasshasthesamevalue.
Suchmapshavetheiruses,butclearlydonotrepresentrealityasdomapswithdifferentvaluesfor
eachpixel,whichbetterreproducetheheterogeneityofecosystems.
Creationofmapsfromactiveremotesensingdata
Byandlarge,opticaldatasets(e.g.Landsat,MODIS,SPOT)cannotbeusedfordirectlymapping
biomass.Theycanbeusedformappinglandcoverandlandcoverchange,whichisuseful,butoften
havelittlesensitivitytobiomass.Thisisashame,asthevastmajorityofremotesensingdatais
optical.
However,fortunately,therealsoexistsactiveremotesensingdatasets,LiDARandradar,whichcan
mapbiomassatapixellevel(nothavingtogovialandcover).RadarandLiDARsensorshavethe
capacitytoproduceaccuratemapsofbiomassandbiomasschange,asshowninforexamplethis
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paperofminefromCameroon(radar),thisfromGabon(lidarandradarfusion),orthispaperbyGreg
AsneroverAmazonianPeru(lidarandopticalfusion).
Intheworkshop,wedownloadedradardataoverAfricafromtheALOSPALSARsatellite,whichis
availablefreelyformtheKyotoandCarbonInitiativewebsiteata50mresolutionfor2008and2009.
ThisdataisalsoavailableforSEAsiafor2008,2009and2010howeverunfortunatelynofree
SouthAmericadataisavailablecurrently.Wethenappliedanequationfromoneofmypapers(this
one)relatingradarbackscattertobiomass,andfromthiswereabletomakebiomassmapsofthe
lowerbiomassregionsandcountries.
Backscatter:biomassequationfromMitchardetal.(2009):
EXP[(2.73+sqrt(7.45(0.623(22+Sigma0))))/0.311]
UnfortunatelytheALOSPALSARsensorisonlysensitivetobiomassuptoabout150Mgha1,so
wewereunabletomapbiomassoverhighbiomassregionsusingthissensor.Wewerehowever
abletousepointestimatesfromtheICESatGLASLiDARsensortoestimateforestheight,and
hencebiomass,inhighbiomassareas.ICESatGLASdataisfreelyavailabletodownload,butdata
wasonlycollectedfrom20032009.

BiomassmapoverMbamDjeremNationalParkinCameroon.DerivedfromALOSPALSARdata
from2007andlocalfieldplotcalibration.Detailshere.

Creationofmapsfromnonlinearmodels
Whenmappingbiomassoververylargeareas,walltowallcoverageusingactiveremotesensing
dataisnotcurrentlypossible.Thereforecombinationsoffielddata,LiDAR/radardata,andoptical
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dataarenormallyused,combinedusingcomplexnonlinearmodels.Thisisthemethodfollowedby
thetwopantropicalbiomassmapsdescribedabove.
Thereisnotspaceheretodescribethepreciselymethodologiesusedindetailthisisacomplex
processinvolvingspecialistsoftware.SeetheBaccinietal.andSaatchietal.papersfor
descriptionsofhowtheydiditmaybeIwillexpandfurthergivingastepbystepguideinafurther
blogpostifthereisinterest.
Wrapup
Ipresentedasummaryoffirststepsforusingabovegroundbiomassmapsthatalreadyexist,and
thenmappingabovegroundbiomassinyourstudysite.Obviouslythisisaverybigtopic,butIhope
theabovehasprovidedhelponthefirststeps,andlinkstousefulresources.Pleasegetintouchif
thishasbeenuseful.Orifyouhaveanyquestionsorcomments,pleasesendmeanemail,or
betterstillcommentbelowsoeveryonecanbenefit.
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ThisentrywaspostedinUncategorizedandtaggedcarbon,carbonstockmapping,
deforestation,degradation,earthobservationsatellites,environment,forestcarbonstocks,
forestconservation,redd,remotesensing,UNFCCCbyedmitchard.Bookmarkthepermalink
[https://deforestationwatch.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/astepbystepguidetomakingmaps
ofvegetationcarbonstocks/].
18THOUGHTSONASTEPBYSTEPGUIDETOMAKINGMAPSOFVEGETATIONCARBONSTOCKS

Pingback:Astepbystepguidetomakingmapsofvegetati...
Pingback:REDDinthenews:2228April2013|reddmonitor.org

Jim
onApril28,2013at2:49pmsaid:

Veryinformative.Thanks.Onalearningcurvenearsquareone,sothis
quantitativeapproachiseasytodigest.Jim

JoshuaNkosi
onApril28,2013at5:33pmsaid:

Ihavethelikedthepresentation.IwishIcouldgetthesesensinggadgets
inUgandahere.

edmitchard
onApril29,2013at9:39amsaid:

HiJoshua,Imgladyoufoundthepostuseful.Whichgadgetsisit
youcannotobtaininUganda:almostallthedatasetsIdiscussed
arefreeandavailableonline.

Moussa
onApril15,2014at9:17pmsaid:

HelloEdward.Couldyoupleasesendthelinktodownload
forestcarbonstockdata?Thanks

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JoshuaNkosi
onApril28,2013at5:34pmsaid:

Ihavelikedthepresentation.IwishIcouldgetthesesensinggadgetsin
Ugandahere.

James
onApril29,2013at8:49amsaid:

Thanksforthispiece.Ishouldhavebeeninvolvedattheworkshopiflhad
beeninvolved.waswithNCRC.

Ama
onMay15,2013at10:37pmsaid:

Thankyouforthisinformation.iwasatCERSGISduringtheworkshopbut
unfortunately,Iwasnotpartoftheparticipants.IknowIwouldhave

Follow

appreciateditmoreifIwereinvolvedbutallthesame,Iwillstayintouch
andfollowyourblogs.Thanksoncemore.

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Russell
onMay30,2013at3:05pmsaid:

Sign me up

Agreatpiece,thanksEd.
Build a website with WordPress.com
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Amhopingtodosimilarwork(asaPhD)furtherdownsouthinSouth
Africa.Muchlessbiomassthanthetropics,soitsgoingtointerestingto
seetheresultswegetfromourremotesensors.Imfollowingyour
research/publicationswithkeeninterest.
Regards

wahyukdephut
onNovember21,2013at2:57pmsaid:

RebloggedthisonForestResearcher(FORDAINDONESIA)and
commented:
great

Fikir
onFebruary5,2014at9:35amsaid:

HiThanksforsharingitisveryuseful.CurrentlyIamdoingmyPhDin
Kenya.Biomassandcarbonestimationispartoftheresearchwork.Inmy
caseIamlookingattheLanduselandcoverchangeforthelast40years
usingaerialphotographsandrecentsatelliteimage.Ididthelandcover
classificationusingArcGISsoftwaresimplyonscreen(visual)digitizing
sincetheareaissmall.IcollectedDBHandHon25plotsinMidaCreek
mangrovenaturalforesttocalculatebiomassandIwillusetheresultIget

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frombiomasstogetthecarbon.Doyouthinkitisasoundmethodology?
Follow
Thanks!

Deforestationwatch
edmitchard
onFebruary5,2014at10:04amsaid:

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Soundslikeareasonableapproachtome,dependingabitonthe
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sizeofplotsandtheheterogeneityofforestinthearea.Ifyoud
liketosendmethedetailsIcanchecktheassumptions?

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FikirAlemayehu
onFebruary5,2014at12:58pmsaid:

HiEdthanksalotforthequickrespond.Thetotalstudy
areaisapproximately60kmsquarewhereasthemangrove
forestwhereIcollectedthedataforbiomassis32km
square.WhenIcollectedthedataonthe25plotsIfound
outabout5typesofmangrovespecies.TheplotsthatI
collectedtheHandDBHis10mby10m.Toestimatethe
biomassIamusingthegeneralformula(speciesspecific)
developedbyChaveetal,2005andKomlyamaetal.Once
IgetthebiomassresultIwillmultiplytheresultby0.5to
estimatethecarbon.ThenIwillseehowmuchcarbonlost
overthelast40years.Ireadseveralpaperswhichis
similarwithyourpresentationbutdidnotfindonewhich
somehowfollowmymethodology(screendigitizing).Ihave
aerialphotographsofthemangroveareafor1969and1989
andworldviewsatelliteimagewithhighresolution(0.5m)for
2010.ThatiswhatIusedtopreparethemapsforeach
year.Ihavealsogatheredenoughinformationonthedrivers
oflandusechangetoknowwhathashappenedintothe
landoverthelast40yearsbyusinghouseholdquestioners
for60household.BecauseobviouslytheresultIgotfrom
theGISwillnottellmethedriversofchange.Iwillalso
lookattheshorelinechangeintheareaforthelast40
yearsusingtheGIS/RSsoftware.Itwillbeinterestingto
getyourcommentasIamstillworkingonthedataI
gathered.Ithankyouverymuchinadvanceforyour
valuablecomments.
Regards,

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VladimirWingate
onOctober16,2014at2:55pmsaid:

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DearDrMitchard,
IverecentlystartedaPhDattheUniversityofBasel,studyinglandcover
changesandforestbiomasspatternsofthenortheasternNamibian
tropicaldryforests.
Imveryinterestedinallthatwasmentionedinyourpostandgratefulfor
thesourcesofinformation.
Atpresent,IamusingtheLandsatarchiveandGoogleEarthEngineto
documentlandcoverchangesoverthepast40years.
Ihavealsocarriedoutapreliminaryforestinventoryaccordingtothe
methodsdescribedbyPearson,Walker,andBrown(2005)inwhichI
measuredtreediameteratbreastheightinover6030x30mplots,ina8000
+hawoodlandareaofnorthernNamibia.Ihavethenappliedgeneral
allometricequations,includingthosedevelopedbyMugashaetal.(2013)
tocalculateper/haestimatesofcarbon.
Initially,Iwouldliketosimplyusethisdatatoassigncarbonvaluestothe
differentlandcoverclassesImapped(orthosemappedbythedifferent
globallandcoverprojectsasdescribedinyoupost)intheregion,and
comparemyresultstootherstudiesincludingSaatchietal.(2011),for
example.
Oneofmyquestionsis:Iamunclearwhethersuchdatacanbeusedin
combinationwithhighresolutionimagery(Landsatorother)todevelop
empiricalmodelstopredictbiomassdistribution.
ThisisoneideaIwouldliketopursue,however:Iamnotawareofany
alternativehighresolutionimageryavailableforthisregion(southernAfrica)
apartfromLandsatarchive,andwhetheragreaternumberofplots,
distributedmorewidely,wouldbenecessaryforsuchatask.
Wouldyoubeabletorecommendanystudiesonthistheme,andperhaps
recommendoroutlinethemethodsnecessarytodevelopempirical
models?
Iwouldbeverygratefulforanycommentsorsuggestionsconcerningthe
above,
PleaseletmeknowifIcouldprovideyouwithanyfurtherdetails,

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Vladimir

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onMarch13,2015at5:28amsaid:

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HiEd,
IhavePALSARdatafrom

Sign me up

http://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/ALOS/en/palsar_fnf/data/index.htmandplotlevel
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fieldinventorydata,howcanIcombinethesetopredictbiomass?
Thanks,

edmitchard
onJune4,2015at2:20pmsaid:

HiVladimir,youcouldtryfollowingthestepsIwentthroughin
thesepapers?
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S00344257110013
37
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2009GL040692/full

VladimirWingate
onJuly20,2015at1:21amsaid:

Thankyouforyoureply.
Withreferencetoyour2011paperMeasuringbiomass
changesduetowoodyencroachmentand
deforestation/degradationinaforestsavannaboundary
regionofcentralAfricausingmultitemporalLbandradar
backscatterIhaveaquestionconcerningtheALOS
PALSARprocessing:Thesigma0valuesforpixels
coveringtheplotswereconvertedto
thepowerdomainbeforeaveraging,toensuretheuseof
the
arithmetic,notgeometric,means.
IveconvertedthefreelyavailableALOSPALSAR25m
FNFHVdatatoSigma0valuesusingthesuggested
equation(dB=10log10DN2)+CF,whatstepscanshould
nowbetakentoapplytheabovecorrections?
Lookingforwardstohearingfromyou,
Best,
Vladimir

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