ABSTRACT

Forest degradation is an anthropogenic process that can lead to significant carbon loss from forests to the atmosphere. Measuring and mapping of forest degradation have become important tasks for advancing carbon payment negotiations through the reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD+) process. The forests of the Brazilian Amazon are significantly impacted by forest degradation due to three main processes: selective logging, forest fires, and forest fragmentation. This chapter demonstrates how remote sensing techniques can be integrated with forest biomass field measurements to construct reliable baselines of carbon emissions associated with forest degradation. It presents a summary of forest degradation processes and their impacts on forest carbon stocks and includes an evaluation of those attributes of forest degradation that can be quantified using remotely sensed data. The chapter also presents a framework for integrating deforestation and forest degradation monitoring activities in developing baselines for REDD+.