Estimation of Forest Above Ground Biomass in Hyrcanian Forests Using Satellite Imagery

The importance of the northern forests of Iran as one of the most important and largest carbon reserves and its role in atmospheric carbon sequestration in our country is evident. The study of the above ground biomass of these forests is considered as a necessity. In recent years, many studies have been carried out using remote sensing technology and various indices for forest above ground biomass estimations. The purpose of this study is estimating Hyrcanian forests above ground biomass in northern Iran using satellite data (SPOT 6).

In this research, above ground biomass of these forests using SPOT satellite images and regression models in three selected regions in the Northern provinces (Asalem, Sardaraboud and Kordkuy) and in 2 altitudes were investigated. After calculating the average above ground biomass per hectare using field plots, three vegetation indices NDVI, RVI and TVI were used to estimate biomass based on satellite imagery.

The results showed that the relationship between above ground biomass values and vegetation indices was linear and the NDVI has the highest level of significance in all parcels and has the highest correlation coefficient with above ground biomass. Therefore, regression relations with NDVI were used in order to map the above ground biomass.

 Based on the results of this study, the above ground biomass values between the three main study areas and in the elevation classes between the high lands and the middle land have a relatively large difference. The highest biomass in the Asalem region and the high lands has been observed.