Mapping of aboveground biomass in Gabon

The aim of this paper is to map the aboveground biomass (AGB) in Gabon. First, a random forest (RF) model that relates reference AGB values to remote sensing (RS)-derived variables (mainly radar and optical images) was built, and the significant predictive variables were determined. Second, the built RF model was applied to the significant RS-derived variables to predict AGB across Gabon. The results showed that the overall RMSE (Root Mean Square Error) on the RS-derived AGB map with a spatial resolution of 50 m was 63.3 t/ha (R² = 0.53).

To improve the accuracy of the RS-derived AGB map, the integration of LiDAR data provided by the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) onboard the Ice Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) was investigated. First, an RF model that relates reference AGB values to GLAS-derived metrics and a DEM (Digital Elevation Model) was built. Second, the calibrated RF model was applied to obtain a spatially distributed estimation of AGB (GLAS footprints geolocation) covering forested areas in Gabon, with a density of 0.13 footprints/km². Third, the semivariogram of residuals (RS-derived AGB map – GLAS-derived AGB “surrogate AGB”) was computed. Later, a regression kriging interpolation was performed by taking into account the spatial structure of residuals to provide a continuous residual map. Finally, the RS-derived AGB map and the residual map were summed, and a final AGB map was obtained. The results showed that the integration of GLAS surrogate AGB data slightly improves the accuracy of the RS-derived AGB map only for AGB values lower than 100 t/ha (bias and RMSE reduced by 13.9 and 10 t/ha, respectively).