Climate Interprets Saturation Value Variations Better Than Soil and Topography in Estimating Oak Forest Aboveground Biomass Using Landsat 8 OLI Imagery

Abstract

The optical saturation problem is one of the main factors causing uncertainty in aboveground biomass (AGB) estimations using optical remote sensing data. It is critical for the improvement in AGB estimation accuracy to clarify the relationships between environmental factors and the variations in optical saturation values (OSVs). In this study, we obtained the OSVs for 20 districts and clarified the individual, interactive, and comprehensive effects of climate, soil, and topographical factors on the OSV variations. The results are as follows: (1) the range of the OSVs was from 104 t/hm2 to 182 t/hm2 for the 20 districts; (2) the soil factor had the greatest (−0.635) influence on the OSVs compared to climate and topography; (3) the highest interaction effect (−0.833) was between climate and soil; (4) the comprehensive effect of the three environmental factors on the OSVs was obvious, and the correlation coefficient was 0.436. Moreover, the mean temperature of the coldest quarter (MCQMean) had the highest effect on the OSVs. The results indicate that environmental factors significantly affect the variation in OSVs through their individual, interactive, and comprehensive effects. Our findings provide a valuable reference for reducing the uncertainty caused by spectral saturation in AGB estimations using optical remote sensing data.