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Distribution of Aboveground Live Biomass in the Amazon BasinThe amount and spatial distribution of forest biomass in the Amazon basin is a major source of uncertainty in estimating the flux of carbon released from land-cover and land-use change. Direct measurements of aboveground live biomass (AGLB) are limited to small areas of forest inventory plots and site-specific allometric equations that cannot be readily generalized for the entire basin. Furthermore, there is no spaceborne remote sensing instrument that can measure tropical forest biomass directly. To determine the spatial distribution of forest biomass of the Amazon basin, we report a method based on remote sensing metrics representing various forest structural parameters and environmental variables, and more than 500 plot measurements of forest biomass distributed over the basin. A decision tree approach was used to develop the spatial distribution of AGLB for seven distinct biomass classes of lowland old-growth forests with more than 80% accuracy. AGLB for other vegetation types, such as the woody and herbaceous savanna and secondary forests, was directly estimated with a regression based on satellite data. Results show that AGLB is highest in Central Amazonia and in regions to the east and north, including the Guyanas. Biomass is generally above 300Mgha(sup 1) here except in areas of intense logging or open floodplains. In Western Amazonia, from the lowlands of Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia to the Andean mountains, biomass ranges from 150 to 300Mgha(sup 1). Most transitional and seasonal forests at the southern and northwestern edges of the basin have biomass ranging from 100 to 200Mgha(sup 1). The AGLB distribution has a significant correlation with the length of the dry season. We estimate that the total carbon in forest biomass of the Amazon basin, including the dead and below ground biomass, is 86 PgC with +/- 20% uncertainty.
Document ID
20080032394
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Saatchi, S. S.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Houghton, R. A.
(Woods Hole Research Center MA, United States)
DosSantos Alvala, R. C.
(Instituto de Pesquisas Espaciais Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil)
Soares, J. V.
(Instituto de Pesquisas Espaciais Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil)
Yu, Y.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
April 1, 2007
Publication Information
Publication: Global Change Biology
Publisher: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Volume: 13
Issue: 4
Subject Category
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
rainforest
Amazon
remote sensing
biomass
climate

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