Abstract
Research on forest carbon (C) dynamics has been undertaken due to the importance of forest ecosystems in national C inventories. Currently, the C sequestration of South Korean forests surpasses that of other countries. In South Korea, Pinus densiflora (red pine) is the most abundant tree species. Thus, understanding the growth rate and biomass evolution of red pine forest in South Korea is important for estimating the forest C dynamics. In this paper, we derived empirical relationship between foliage biomass and the no blue band enhanced vegetation index (EVI-2) profile using both field work and multi-temporal Landsat-5 TM remote sensing data to estimate the productivity of forest biomass in South Korea. Our analysis combined a set of 84 Landsat-5 TM images from 28 different dates between 1986 and 2008 to study red pine forest development over time. Field data were collected from 30 plots (0.04 ha) that were irregularly distributed over South Korea. Individual trees were harvested by destructive sampling, and the age of trees were determined by the number of tree rings. The results are realistic (R&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&thinsp=&thinsp0.81, <i>p</i>&thinsp;&lt;&thinsp;0.01) and suggest that the EVI-2 index is able to adequately represent the development profile of foliage biomass in red pine forest growth.
Highlights
1.1 South Korean ForestForest ecosystems contain a substantial amount of carbon (C) and contribute to global C cycles (Dixon et al, 1994; Pan et al, 2011)
Estimation of forest biomass by satellite remote sensing has been investigated at various spatial scales and environments (Huete et al, 2006; Schroeder et al, 2006; Haidar et al, 2013), and the most frequently used data continue to be from moderate resolution optical sensors
We aimed to study the relationship between foliage biomass and the EVI-2 values as a preparatory step for estimating the productivity of biomass in South Korea
Summary
Forest ecosystems contain a substantial amount of carbon (C) and contribute to global C cycles (Dixon et al, 1994; Pan et al, 2011). Forest C dynamics have been studied due to the importance of forest ecosystems in national forest C inventories. It is crucial to understand forest C dynamics to report national C inventories and implement optimal policies. South Korean forests sequester atmospheric C (Lee et al, 2014). These forests were almost destroyed after being exploited by the Japanese and the Korean War. South Korean forests started recovering after the national scale reforestation program was started in 1973. Understanding the growth rate and biomass evolution of red pine forests in South Korea is important to estimate the impacts and vulnerability of forests to the natural and anthropogenic processes of forest C dynamics.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
