Estimating Mangrove Canopy Height and Above-Ground Biomass in the Everglades National Park with Airborne LiDAR and TanDEM-X Data

Emanuelle A Feliciano,Temilola E Fatoyinbo,Shimon Wdowinski,Seung-Kuk Lee,Matthew D Potts

doi:10.3390/rs9070702

Abstract

Mangrove forests are important natural ecosystems due to their ability to capture and store large amounts of carbon. Forest structural parameters, such as canopy height and above-ground biomass (AGB), provide a good measure for monitoring temporal changes in carbon content. The protected coastal mangrove forest of the Everglades National Park (ENP) provides an ideal location for studying these processes, as harmful human activities are minimal. We estimated mangrove canopy height and AGB in the ENP using Airborne LiDAR/Laser (ALS) and TanDEM-X (TDX) datasets acquired between 2011 and 2013. Analysis of both datasets revealed that mangrove canopy height can reach up to ~25 m and AGB can reach up to ~250 Mg•ha−1. In general, mangroves ranging from 9 m to 12 m in stature dominate the forest canopy. The comparison of ALS and TDX canopy height observations yielded an R2 = 0.85 and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) = 1.96 m. Compared to a previous study based on data acquired during 2000–2004, our analysis shows an increase in mangrove stature and AGB, suggesting that ENP mangrove forests are continuing to accumulate biomass. Our results suggest that ENP mangrove forests have managed to recover from natural disturbances, such as Hurricane Wilma.

Highlights

IntroductionIn order to evaluate the climate mitigation potential of mangrove forests, it is important to monitor changes in their forest structure and biomass-carbon content
In an era of anthropogenic climate change, mangrove forests are important natural ecosystems due to their ability to capture and store carbon as well as to protect coastal areas from erosion [1,2].In order to evaluate the climate mitigation potential of mangrove forests, it is important to monitor changes in their forest structure and biomass-carbon content
In order to assess the quality of the TDX results, we compared these results with the Airborne LiDAR/Laser (ALS) H100-derived digital canopy model (DCM) calculated from the ALS data acquired along the Shark River Slough (SRS)

Summary

Introduction

In order to evaluate the climate mitigation potential of mangrove forests, it is important to monitor changes in their forest structure and biomass-carbon content. Forest parameters such as the vertical structure (canopy height) and above-ground biomass (AGB) provide useful quantitative measures of carbon stock. Such observations would enable tracking mangrove recovery after destructive extreme weather events and climate change-related phenomena. High-resolution remote sensing technologies have the potential to overcome these challenges

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Discussion

Conclusion