HR: 1330h
AN: B42A-0938    [PDF]
TI: Remote sensing for forest resource assessment: applications to carbon management
AU: * Goetz, S J
EM: sgoetz@whrc.org
AF: Woods Hole Research Center, PO Box 296, Woods Hole, MA 02543-0296 United States
AU: Conn, C
EM: cconn@dnr.state.md.us
AF: Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Watershed Management & Analysis Resource Assessment Service, Annapolis, MD 21401 United States
AU: Wolf, J
EM: jwolf@dnr.state.md.us
AF: Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Watershed Management & Analysis Resource Assessment Service, Annapolis, MD 21401 United States
AB: The U.S. Forest Service and the State of Maryland's Department of Natural Resources have initiated an assessment of forest resources in Maryland, and across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. This Strategic Forest Lands Assessment (SFLA) uses remote sensing and geographic information systems analyses to conduct ecological, socioeconomic and vulnerability assessments in support of resource management activities and forest product based economies. As part of this activity we are modeling net primary productivity of the region, and producing maps of land cover type - including the proportion of subpixel tree cover from Landsat7 imagery. These map products are being used in several programs to assess forest cover change, relationships with standing carbon stocks, and to target lands for a combination of ecological protection and economic resource extraction, as well as carbon sequestration. These efforts not only provide critical data sets and derived products used as decision tools for forest conservation, restoration and enhancement, but also advance efforts to promote sustainable forestry activities. The forest management efforts are designed to optimize carbon sink strategies and reduce atmospheric carbon pools. By using a combination of estimated, simulated and measured biomass and productivity, and timber removal estimates from Forest Inventory Analysis, we can determine where carbon sequestration can be maximized and sustainable forestry activities can be encouraged. The effects of these forest management activities, both past and present, and changes in forest cover, can have substantial impacts on regional carbon sequestration.
DE: 0315 Biosphere/atmosphere interactions
DE: 0322 Constituent sources and sinks
DE: 1615 Biogeochemical processes (4805)
DE: 1640 Remote sensing
DE: 1694 Instruments and techniques
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting