BioMed Central Blog

Can satellites measure carbon emissions from deforestation?

A recent article published in Carbon Balance & Management suggests the use of satellite technology for monitoring global carbon stocks.

Deforestation and forest degradation accounts for nearly a third of anthropogenic carbon emissions and reduction of these emissions is an important aspect of climate change policy. However, effective management and reduction of these emissions relies on an accurate method for mapping and monitoring the carbon stocks of the forested regions of the world.

Carbon stocks are traditionally mapped using field measurements of vegetation or land cover types to measure the above ground biomass of an area, as satellite data was thought to be inadequate for the task. A recent review published in Carbon Balance and Management and featured on Mongabay challenges this consensus.

Mapping and monitoring carbon stocks with satellite observations: a comparison of methods
Scott J Goetz, Alessandro Baccini, Nadine T Laporte, Tracy Johns, Wayne Walker, Josef Kellndorfer, Richard A Houghton, Mindy Sun
Carbon Balance and Management 2009, 4:2 (25 March 2009)

In their article, Dr Goetz et al compare traditional mapping methods with new methods that directly utilize satellite measurements from several different satellite sources. They conclude that a combination of remote sensing methods provide more coherent maps of carbon stocks and also removes the uncertainty and ambiguity associated with purely traditional approaches.

This improved method for monitoring carbon stock comes at a crucial time for addressing global climate change with several meetings on the topic being held throughout the year leading up to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen in December. You can stay up to date with the latest articles from Carbon Balance & Management by signing up for email article alerts.

Posted by Anne Braae at 09:54    Comments (0)