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Scientia Silvae Sinicae ›› 2025, Vol. 61 ›› Issue (8): 142-153.doi: 10.11707/j.1001-7488.LYKX20240818

• Research papers • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Estimation of Aboveground Biomass in Regional Forests by Using Integrating UAV-LiDAR and GEDI Data

Xiaoyan Xiong1,2,3,Caixia Li1,2,3,*(),Guoqi Chai4,Long Chen4,Xiang Jia5,Lingting Lei1,2,3,Xiaoli Zhang1,2,3,*()   

  1. 1. Beijing Forestry University State Key Laboratory of Efficient Production of Forest Resources Beijing 100083
    2. College of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University Beijing Key Laboratory of Precision Forestry Beijing 100083
    3. Beijing Forestry University Key Laboratory of Forest Cultivation and Protection, Ministry of Education Beijing 100083
    4. Institute of Forest Resource Information Techniques, Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing 100091
    5. Institute of Geographical Sciences, Henan Academy of Sciences Zhengzhou 450052
  • Received:2024-12-31 Online:2025-08-25 Published:2025-09-02
  • Contact: Caixia Li,Xiaoli Zhang E-mail:licaixia179@163.com;zhang-xl@263.net

Abstract:

Objective: By integrating unmanned aerial vehicle light detection and ranging (UAV-LiDAR) data and global ecosystem dynamics investigation (GEDI) data, a“plot-local-region”estimation framework was constructed to estimate the aboveground biomass (AGB) of Gaofeng Forest Farm, providing a new approach for forest carbon storage monitoring. Method: Based on plot-level field measured data within the forest farm, this study evaluated the performance of three models: multiple linear regression (MLR), random forest (RF), and support vector regression (SVR), in estimating UAV-LiDAR-derived regional aboveground biomass (AGB). To augment the sample size at the regional scale, UAV-LiDAR-derived AGB estimated at GEDI footprint locations was combined with selected key GEDI footprint metrics to develop a footprint-level AGB estimation model. This model was subsequently employed to predict footprint-level AGB across the entire forest farm. The spatial interpolation of forest AGB was achieved by integrating UAV-LiDAR-derived local AGB with footprint-level AGB using empirical Bayesian Kriging (EBK) method. The inversion of AGB spatial distribution was implemented through EBK interpolation of key footprint metrics combined with UAV-LiDAR estimated AGB for model construction. Result: RF model demonstrated superior performance in estimating UAV-LiDAR-derived regional AGB compared to both MLR and SVR, achieving an R2 of 0.95 with RMSE = 9.96 Mg·hm?2 and rRMSE = 9.79%. The footprint-level AGB estimated by RF showed strong agreement with UAV-LiDAR regional AGB (R2 = 0.93, RMSE = 5.93 Mg·hm?2, rRMSE = 5.84%). The synergistic interpolation of UAV-LiDAR local AGB and GEDI footprint AGB achieved a prediction accuracy of R2 = 0.78, RMSE = 22.30 Mg·hm?2, and MAE = 16.99 Mg·hm?2 Compared with the AGB inversion results based on interpolated key features (fhd, rh96, cover, pt4 and pai), the AGB ranges in the study area obtained were more reasonable (49.26–193.27 Mg·hm?2). Conclusion: This study is based on the“plot-local-region”AGB estimation framework, employing random forest algorithms and spatial interpolation methods to effectively integrate UAV-LiDAR and GEDI data. It overcomes the limitations of scarce field plot measurements and the spatial discontinuity of remote sensing data, and verifies the feasibility of using footprint samples for forest AGB estimation. The research achieves accurate AGB estimation in Gaofeng Forest Farm, providing essential data support for forest carbon storage assessment and sustainable management.

Key words: unmanned aerial vehicle light detection and ranging (UAV-LiDAR), global ecosystem dynamics investigation (GEDI), random forest, forest aboveground biomass, empirical Bayesian Kriging

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