ABSTRACT
Recent global observation systems provide measurements of horizontal and vertical vegetation structures of ecosystems, which will be critical for estimating global carbon storage and assessing ecosystem response to climate change and natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Remote sensing overcomes the limitations associated with sparse fi ld surveys; it has been used extensively as a basis for inferring forest structure and aboveground biomass (AGB) over large areas. This chapter summarizes recent progress on the AGB estimate using remote sensing technology including strength and weakness of using optical passive, radar, and LiDAR remote sensing and fusion of multisensor for the AGB estimates. It lays out the potential of remote sensing in the AGB and carbon storage estimates at large scales for meeting the requirements under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for measuring, reporting, and verification. The purpose of this chapter is to review recent progress on the AGB estimates using remote sensing data.
