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Estimation of Carbon Sequestration by Combining Remote Sensing and Net Ecosystem Exchange Data for Northern Mixed-Grass Prairie and Sagebrush–Steppe Ecosystems

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Abstract

Carbon sequestration was estimated a northern mixed-grass prairie site and a sagebrush–steppe site in southeastern Wyoming using an approach that integrates remote sensing, CO2 flux measurements, and meteorological data. Net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2 was measured using aircraft and ground flux techniques and was linearly related to absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR). The slope of this relationship is the radiation use efficiency (ɛ = 0.51 g C/MJ APAR); there were no significant differences in the regression coefficients between the two sites. Furthermore, ecosystem chamber measurements of total respiration in 1998 and 1999 were used to develop a functional relationship with daily average temperature; the Q10 of the relationship was 2.2. Using the Advanced Very High Resolution radiometer. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and meteorological data, annual gross primary production and respiration were calculated from 1995 to 1999 for the two sites. Overall, the sagebrush–steppe site was a net carbon sink, whereas the northern mixed-grass prairie site was in carbon balance. There was no significant relationship between NEE and APAR for a coniferous forest site, indicating this method for scaling up CO2 flux data may be only applicable to rangeland ecosystems. The combination of remote sensing with data from CO2 flux networks can be used to estimate carbon sequestration regionally in rangeland ecosystems.

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Acknowledgements

This paper was presented at the USDA Symposium on Natural Resource Management to Offset Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Raleigh, North Carolina, 19–21 November 2002.

This paper was presented at the USDA Symposium on Natural Resource Management to Offset Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Raleigh, North Carolina, 19–21 November 2002.

We thank Brian Miyake for assistance with the AVHRR image processing, Mark McNeal for collection of spectral irradiance and solar irradiance data, and Robert Piper for collection of the chamber flux data. This project was funded by a National Science Foundation grant (IBN-9727796) to the University of Wyoming.We thank Brian Miyake for assistance with the AVHRR image processing, Mark McNeal for collection of spectral irradiance and solar irradiance data, and Robert Piper for collection of the chamber flux data. This project was funded by a National Science Foundation grant (IBN-9727796) to the University of Wyoming.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Building 007 Room 104 10300 Baltimore Avenue Beltsville, Maryland 20705-2350, USA

    E. Raymond Hunt Jr.

  2. Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Wyoming, PO Box 3038 Laramie, Wyoming 82071-3038, USA

    Robert D. Kelly

  3. Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, PO Box 7325 Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27109-7325, USA

    William K. Smith

  4. Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1499, USA

    Jace T. Fahnestock & Jeffrey M. Welker

  5. Department of Botany, University of Wyoming, PO Box 3165 Laramie, Wyoming 82071-3165, USA

    William A. Reiners

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  1. E. Raymond Hunt Jr.
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Correspondence to E. Raymond Hunt Jr..

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Hunt, E., Kelly, R., Smith, W. et al. Estimation of Carbon Sequestration by Combining Remote Sensing and Net Ecosystem Exchange Data for Northern Mixed-Grass Prairie and Sagebrush–Steppe Ecosystems . Environmental Management 33 (Suppl 1), S432–S441 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-003-9151-0

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