Estimating biomass in the mountain regions of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda using radar and optical remote sensing
dc.contributor.advisor
Meir, Patrick
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dc.contributor.author
Fedrigo, Melissa
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dc.contributor.sponsor
Royal Geographical Society
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dc.date.accessioned
2009-10-01T10:42:47Z
dc.date.available
2009-10-01T10:42:47Z
dc.date.issued
2009-11-26
dc.description.abstract
Field measured estimates of aboveground biomass (AGB) for 15 transects in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP), Uganda were used to generate a number of prediction models for estimating aboveground biomass (AGB) over the full extent of BINP. AGB estimates were extrapolated from the field data using dual-polarization radar satellite data alone, optical satellite data, and a combination of both. The effectiveness of the dual-polarization radar remote sensing data alone was limited due to the difficulties of geocoding and terrain correction in this mountainous region, producing problems with layover and shadowing. The optical-only method demonstrated that perhaps thermal bands may be more sensitive to biomass in tropical forests than visible bands. The radar and optical combined method, generated using the non-parametric algorithm Random Forest (RF) in R, provided the lowest RMSE error (~120 Mg ha-1). The analysis also demonstrated that a number of radar backscatter variables had greater utility for generating a predictive model of biomass than many optical bands in this mountainous region. The combined optical and radar remote sensing model was used to produce a final AGB map over the full 331 km2 extent of BINP; AGB in BINP was estimated at 89.1 million Mg ± 3.9 million Mg, with a mean carbon density of 44.5 million Mg C ± 60 Mg C ha-1.
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17634816 bytes
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37706240 bytes
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18236928 bytes
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application/msword
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application/msword
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application/msword
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dc.identifier.uri
http://hdl.handle.net/1842/3094
dc.language.iso
en
dc.subject
MSc Geographical Information Science
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dc.subject
GIS
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dc.subject
biomass
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dc.subject
remote sensing
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dc.subject
random forest
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dc.subject
tropical forest
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dc.subject
carbon
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dc.title
Estimating biomass in the mountain regions of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda using radar and optical remote sensing
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dc.type
Thesis or Dissertation
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dc.type.qualificationlevel
Masters
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dc.type.qualificationname
MSc Master of Science
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dcterms.accessRights
RESTRICTED ACCESS
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