Development of aboveground mangrove forests’ biomass dataset for Southeast Asia based on ALOS-PALSAR 25-m mosaic

Abstract

Southeast Asia (SEA) has the largest mangrove forest area in the world, which plays an important role in the global carbon cycle and is helping to mitigate climate change. In order to manage the mangrove forests in SEA, their total biomass needs to be determined. However, development of a biomass dataset based on field survey is time consuming. An aboveground biomass (AGB) dataset of mangrove forests was developed for SEA based on ALOS PALSAR 25-m mosaic. Specifically, ALOS-PALSAR 25-m images were first retrieved for SEA from the Kyoto and Carbon Initiative projects and then converted from a digital number to a normalized radar cross-section format in decibels. Samples of mangrove forests in SEA were collected as regions of interest from ALOS PALSAR data based on visual interpretation using Landsat data and Google Earth imagery. A rule-based classification method based on mangrove backscattering characteristics was then used to classify mangroves and nonmangroves in the region. Subsequently, an empirical model was adopted to estimate the AGB of the mangrove forests and an AGB dataset was developed. The results indicate that the spatial distribution of mangrove forests over SEA is 5.1 million hectares, and the estimated average AGB is 140.5 ± 136.1 Mg / ha.