Chapter 9 - Forest Structural and Functional Attribute Upscaling Using Spaceborne LiDAR Data

Abstract

Global mapping of forest structural and functional attributes is essential for monitoring forest disturbances, understanding forest ecosystem processes, and developing forest management and restoration policies to mitigate global climate change. Although near-surface and airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems have revolutionized the measurement of forests from individual to stand levels, as mentioned in previous chapters, it is impractical to use these systems to estimate forest structural and functional attributes at a global scale due to their limited coverage. Spaceborne LiDAR systems, measuring Earth's surface height globally from space, provide potential datasets for upscaling forest structural and functional attributes from the local to the global scale. Currently, three spaceborne LiDAR systems, including the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System aboard the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat), Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System aboard ICESat-2, and Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation installed on the International Space Station, are the most frequently used systems for forestry applications. This chapter introduces these three spaceborne systems, their data products, and their processing procedures. Finally, we describe methods for upscaling forest structural and functional attributes using these spaceborne LiDAR data.