Researchers develop new method to estimate tree biomass in planted forests

Chinese researchers have developed a new method to estimate tree biomass in subtropical planted forests, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Planted forests are a key component of sustainable forest management, as their fast-growing biomass can provide important material supply and ecological services for humans. Accurate estimation of forest biomass is important for global carbon accounting and afforestation policy-making.

Researchers from the Institute of Applied Ecology under the CAS took a planted forest in Hunan Province as a sample and proposed a remote sensing method for estimating plantation biomass with forest age at the core. Through combining the tree growth model with a machine learning algorithm, the method improved the accuracy of estimations of tree density and biomass.

The research improves the method of carbon measurement in plantation forests and provides support for forest ecology and management in subtropical regions.

The research was published in the journal Remote Sensing of Environment.