Developing General Equations for Urban Tree Biomass Estimation with High-Resolution Satellite Imagery

Urban trees provide various important ecological services, the quantification of which is vital to sustainable urban development and requires accurate estimation of tree biomass. A limited number of allometric biomass equations, however, have been developed for urban species due to the prohibitive c...

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Main Author: Jindong Wu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-08-01
Series:Sustainability
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/16/4347
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spelling doaj-52ab3a16dc35458c9d4921c7acf765cc2020-11-25T00:28:02ZengMDPI AGSustainability2071-10502019-08-011116434710.3390/su11164347su11164347Developing General Equations for Urban Tree Biomass Estimation with High-Resolution Satellite ImageryJindong Wu0Department of Geography and the Environment, California State University Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92831, USAUrban trees provide various important ecological services, the quantification of which is vital to sustainable urban development and requires accurate estimation of tree biomass. A limited number of allometric biomass equations, however, have been developed for urban species due to the prohibitive cost. Remote sensing has provided cost-effective means for estimating urban forest biomass, although the propagation of error in the estimation process is not well understood. This study aimed to offer a baseline assessment of the feasibility of estimating urban tree biomass with remote sensing-based general equations applicable to broad taxonomic groups by conducting a large urban tree inventory on a university campus. The biomasses of 191 trees of seven species from the inventory, separated into two categories (i.e., evergreen and deciduous), were calculated exclusively with urban-based species-specific allometric equations. WorldView-2 satellite imagery data were acquired to retrieve normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values at the location, crown, and stand levels. The results indicated that biomass correlated with NDVI in varying forms and degrees. The general equations at the crown level yielded the most accurate biomass estimates, while the location-level estimates were the least accurate. Crown-level spectral responses provided adequate information for delivering spatially explicit biomass estimation.https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/16/4347urban treesecosystem servicesdry weightallometric equationsWordView-2NDVI
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Jindong Wu
spellingShingle Jindong Wu
Developing General Equations for Urban Tree Biomass Estimation with High-Resolution Satellite Imagery
Sustainability
urban trees
ecosystem services
dry weight
allometric equations
WordView-2
NDVI
author_facet Jindong Wu
author_sort Jindong Wu
title Developing General Equations for Urban Tree Biomass Estimation with High-Resolution Satellite Imagery
title_short Developing General Equations for Urban Tree Biomass Estimation with High-Resolution Satellite Imagery
title_full Developing General Equations for Urban Tree Biomass Estimation with High-Resolution Satellite Imagery
title_fullStr Developing General Equations for Urban Tree Biomass Estimation with High-Resolution Satellite Imagery
title_full_unstemmed Developing General Equations for Urban Tree Biomass Estimation with High-Resolution Satellite Imagery
title_sort developing general equations for urban tree biomass estimation with high-resolution satellite imagery
publisher MDPI AG
series Sustainability
issn 2071-1050
publishDate 2019-08-01
description Urban trees provide various important ecological services, the quantification of which is vital to sustainable urban development and requires accurate estimation of tree biomass. A limited number of allometric biomass equations, however, have been developed for urban species due to the prohibitive cost. Remote sensing has provided cost-effective means for estimating urban forest biomass, although the propagation of error in the estimation process is not well understood. This study aimed to offer a baseline assessment of the feasibility of estimating urban tree biomass with remote sensing-based general equations applicable to broad taxonomic groups by conducting a large urban tree inventory on a university campus. The biomasses of 191 trees of seven species from the inventory, separated into two categories (i.e., evergreen and deciduous), were calculated exclusively with urban-based species-specific allometric equations. WorldView-2 satellite imagery data were acquired to retrieve normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values at the location, crown, and stand levels. The results indicated that biomass correlated with NDVI in varying forms and degrees. The general equations at the crown level yielded the most accurate biomass estimates, while the location-level estimates were the least accurate. Crown-level spectral responses provided adequate information for delivering spatially explicit biomass estimation.
topic urban trees
ecosystem services
dry weight
allometric equations
WordView-2
NDVI
url https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/16/4347
work_keys_str_mv AT jindongwu developinggeneralequationsforurbantreebiomassestimationwithhighresolutionsatelliteimagery
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