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Tree Aboveground Carbon Mapping in an Indian Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest Using Object-Based Image Analysis and Very High Resolution Satellite Imagery

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Abstract

Forests’ capability to sequester and store a large amount of carbon makes it imperative to assess the carbon stocked in them. The present study aimed to map the tree aboveground carbon stock of sal (Shorea robusta) forests of Doon valley, India using object-based image analysis (OBIA) of WorldView-2, a very high resolution satellite imagery (VHRS). The study evaluated different pan-sharpening techniques for improving the spatial resolution of WorldView-2 multispectral imagery and found that the high pass filter resolution merge technique was better compared to others. OBIA was used for image segmentation and classification. It enabled the delineation of tree crowns and canopy projection area (CPA) calculation. The overall accuracy of image segmentation and classification were found to be 72.12% and 84.82% respectively. The study unveiled that there exists a strong relationship between diameter at breast height and the CPA of trees as well as CPA and tree carbon. The average forest carbon density in the study area was found to be 108 Mg ha−1. The study highlighted that OBIA of VHRS imagery coupled with field inventory can be efficiently used to quantify and map the tree carbon stock.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the Divisional Forest Officer and the officers and staff of Kalsi Soil and Water Conservation Division, Forest Department, Government of Uttarakhand, India for providing field support. The authors are grateful to the Head, Forestry and Ecology Department, Dean and Director, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, ISRO, Dehradun for their support during the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Indian Space Research Organisation, Department of Space, Government of India, Dehradun, 248001, India

    Neha Singh & Subrata Nandy

  2. Faculty of Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

    L. M. van Leeuwen

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  1. Neha Singh
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  2. Subrata Nandy
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  3. L. M. van Leeuwen
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Contributions

NS: Conceptualization, Methodology, Data curation, Investigation, Formal analysis, Validation, Field data collection, Visualization, Writing—original draft. SN: Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, Investigation, Formal analysis, Validation, Field data collection, Visualization. Writing—review and editing. LMvL: Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, Writing—review and editing.

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Correspondence to Subrata Nandy.

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Singh, N., Nandy, S. & van Leeuwen, L.M. Tree Aboveground Carbon Mapping in an Indian Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest Using Object-Based Image Analysis and Very High Resolution Satellite Imagery. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 52, 723–734 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-023-01791-0

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