int. j. remote sensing, 2002, vol. 23, no.

22, 4971–4978

A method to estimate forest biomass and its application to monitor

Mongolian Taiga using JERS-1 SAR data

R. TSOLMON*, R. TATEISHI and J. S. S. TETUKO

Center for Environmental Remote Sensing, Chiba University, 1-33, Yayoi,
Inage, Chiba 263-8522, Japan

(Received 22 May 2001; in Ž nal form 16 January 2002)

Abstract. This study presents a technique and potential utilization of JERS-1

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data for the estimation of Taiga species biomass
in the Huvsgul Lake basin, Mongolia. In order to develop algorithms for estimat-
ing total stand biomass, shapes of the tree trunks were considered. A least-squares
method was used to deŽ ne tree trunk shape coeYcients, which were then used to
estimate total stand biomass using ground data. L-band data conŽ rmed the
backscattering coeYcient to be dependent upon not only the quantity of biomass,
but also tree parameters. The relationship between backscattering coeYcient and
forest stand biomass in slope areas of the study area was obtained.

1. Introduction
The recent rise in atmospheric CO2 concentration due to burning of fossil fuels
and its potential eVects on climate have renewed interest in the study of forest
biomass and the global carbon cycle. Investigations using Synthetic Aperture Radar
(SAR) are of particular interest for forest monitoring because active microwave
systems can penetrate clouds and record the amount of energy returned from surface
features. In recent years, several authors have investigated the scattering mechanisms
of forest based on observations (Richard et al. 1987). SAR data can be used to
discriminate diVerent forest types, and that the intensity in a SAR image at L-band
is proportional to the above ground biomass of the forest stands (Wu 1987).
Depending on the nature of the forest (height, density, live or dead) and radar
incident angle, C- or L-band can be used for woody biomass estimation (Toan et al.
1992). Radar backscattering at lower frequencies (P- and L-bands) is dominated by
scattering processes involving the major wood biomass components, i.e. trunks and
branches. Radar scattering models of forests show backscattering to be dependent
upon not only the quantity of biomass, but also the three-dimensional architecture
of the forest (size, shape and orientation distributions of trunks, branches and foliage)
(Kashischke and Christensen 1990).
In order to observe and understand the relationships between SAR backscatter
and Ž nest forest biomass, we conducted a forest inventory in the Huvsgul forest,
Mongolia. This study investigates the relationship between SAR backscatter and
forest stand measurements.

*e-mail: tsolmon@ceres.cr.chiba-u.ac.jp
Internationa l Journal of Remote Sensing
ISSN 0143-1161 print/ISSN 1366-590 1 online © 2002 Taylor & Francis Ltd
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
DOI: 10.1080/01431160210133554
4972 R. T solmon et al.

2. Objectives
In this study, we used two approaches. Firstly, a method was developed for
estimating biomass using least-squares and deŽ ned forest trunk shape coeY cients
and, secondly, relationships were derived between forest biomass and L-band back-
scattering coeYcients in roughness (slope) surface which can be used for radar
scattering models of forests.

3. Study area and biomass properties

The study area, the Huvsgul Lake basin (Ž gure 1) is located in the northern part
of Mongolia. It lies between 50° and 52° N and 100 ° and 102 ° E at an elevation of
1100–1600 m above sea level. The forest type in this area is the Altai mountain Taiga
which forms a transition zone between the Siberian Taiga forest and the central
Asian steppe zones.

3.1. Climate
The climate of the study area is continental. There is a wide range of temperatures
between winter and summer. The plant growing season is concentrated from June
to the beginning of September with an annual precipitation of 250–300 mm. Since
the study area is located in the middle latitudes, the western and northern winds
prevail throughout the year.

3.2. Forest biomass properties

Huvsgul forests are now being logged for veneer and saw logs. Biophysical
characterization was done through intensive biomass measurements during the pro-
ject HLF (Huvsgul Lake Forest) from 1997 to 2001 (Sambuu and Tsogtbayar 1999).
The dominant plants of the Taiga biome are larch (L arix sibirica), pine (Pinus sibirica)
and poplar (Populas) forest species which are mainly distributed from the lower to
upper slopes of mountains. These slopes were considered to contribute to the rough-
ness of targeted surfaces in the study area (Ž gure 1) and their relationship with
L-band backscatter and measured biomass. DiVerences exist in forest biomass among
Taiga species depending on stand age, stand history, and stand structure. The forest,
especially in the age of 40–200 years, provides a wide range of parameters. Larch
forest 70–200 years old, pine 80–100 and poplar 40–80 years old forest types were
selected for forest inventories. Five to 10 400 m2 square plots each with 16–20 stands
were used. These plots were selected within diVerent forest types where tree density,
diameter at breast height (dbh), tree height and understorey species have been
measured. Eight to 10 stands from each forest type were uprooted and needles, trunk
and roots separated for live weight measurement (table 1). These detailed measure-
ments were made on forest stands on sampling plots used from forest inventories in
July and August from 1997 to 2001. Forest variables (table 1) were used to estimate
total trunk biomass of larch, pine and poplar forests.

4. Methodology
Generally, biomass can be estimated using one or more of the forest characteristics
through the use of allometric equations. In general, the assumption that the tree
trunk is cylindrical for the case of volume computation given as in formula (1) does
not hold for most trees.
V =pD2H (1)
 Remote Sensing L etters 4973

Figure 1. Location of the study area (51°8ê N–51°40ê N, 100°07ê E–101° E), northern part of
Huvsgul Lake basin, Mongolia and species classiŽ cation map using JERS-1 SAR
L-band image on 31 July 1997.

Table 1. Weight (%) of forests in the study area. SD=standard deviation.

Number of samples Mean SD

Larch Root 10 13.57 0.99

Trunk 10 79.34 1.40
Needles 10 7.07 0.66
Pine Root 10 18.78 2.35
Trunk 10 66.97 14.81
Needles 10 11.25 0.68
Poplar Root 8 8.35 1.92
Trunk 8 81.27 3.32
Needles 8 7.65 1.58
4974 R. T solmon et al.

where V , D and H are trunk volume, dbh (in m) and height (in m), respectively. This
assumption is fairly simpliŽ ed and appears to lack precision in Ž eld study, hence the
need to modify the formula (1) based on ground data, for diVerent tree types (shapes).
The least-squares method was used in this study. The resultant tree coeYcients can
be used in estimating total tree biomass. In this study, we assume that a regression
model for tree trunk biomass is as follows:
V =aDbHc (2)
where a, b and c are parameter coeY cients for the general type of tree trunk volume
and need to be estimated. Therefore, (2) justiŽ es the initial assumption generalizing
formula (1). Direct application of the least-squares method for estimating tree
parameters requires solving the following nonlinear optimization problem with
respect to forest parameters:
n
æ [aDbi Hci ­ V i ]! min (3)
i= 1
where V i is a trunk volume deŽ ned by (1) for i-th tree, and n is the number of trees
involved in measurement. In order to avoid solving problem (3) directly, (2) was
reduced to its allometric form (4), which is a linear regression where logarithms of
the data are used in the regression analyses
ln V =ln aDbHc =ln a+b ln D+c ln H (4)
Error function E(a, b, c) is based on actual ground data V i and allometric form (4)
n
E(a, b, c)= æ [a +bD +cH ­ V ]2
i i i i (5)
i= 1
where V i =ln V i ; ai =ln a; Di =ln Di ; Hi =ln Hi is a convex function reaching its min-
imum point. Then forest parameters a, b and c are deŽ ned by solving the following
unconstrained minimization problem:
E(a, b, c)! min (6)
Equation (7) is obtained by taking partial derivatives from error function (6 )
ç E n
=2 æ (a+bDi +cHi ­ V i )=0
ç a i= 1
ç E n
=2 æ (a+bDi +cHi ­ V i )Di =0 (7)
ç b i= 1
ç E n
=2 æ (a+bDi +cHi ­ V i )Hi =0
ç c i= 1
If we simplify (7), we get the system of (8)
n n n
c æ Hi +b æ Di +an= æ V i
i= 1 i= 1 i= 1
n n n n
c æ Hi Di +b æ D2i +a æ Di = æ V iDi (8)
i= 1 i= 1 i= 1 i= 1
n n n n
c æ H2i +b æ HiDi +a æ Hi = æ V iHi
i= 1 i= 1 i= 1 i= 1
 Remote Sensing L etters 4975

Applying Ž eld data to (8), the respective coeYcients are as shown in table 2. The
equations in table 2 were used in precise estimation of forest biomass. Total biomass
for forest types, namely larch, pine and poplar, were estimated using the equation
mentioned above.
In order to consider environmental factors like moisture content of the various
trees, formula (1) can be modiŽ ed using the above methodology. By modifying
equation (1), the moisture content of the various trees can be found:
V =aDbHcPv (9)
where P is the moisture content for the various parts of the tree.

5. Data processing and analyses

In this study, JERS-1 SAR data (path 139, row 214) on 31 July 1997 were used.
L-band HH polarization was acquired over the study area in the Huvsgul Lake
basin, Mongolia. This image was processed at level 2.1 (standard geocoded image)
and was resampled to the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projection by the
Earth Observation Research Center (EORC) of the National Space Development
Agency (NASDA) of Japan. At the same time, the image was also referenced to the
longitude/latitude coordinate system, through a polynomial rectiŽ cation using 40
ground control points collected from topographic maps at a scale of 1:500 000
(HUVSGUL DALAI 1990) and ground data collection during August 1997 and
August 2001 in the Huvsgul region, Mongolia. Then the spatial resolution of the
SAR image was resampled to 12.5 m. Sampling 3×3 pixels around a given point for
mean scatter was carried out in the analyses. Maximum likelihood supervised classi-
Ž cation was performed on the image. The study area was classiŽ ed into six classes,
namely, water, larch, pine, poplar, grassland and Taiga species (understorey species).
By considering the slope of the study area (Ž gure 2), the digital number of satellite
sensor data was assumed as In =Isat /cos(hi ­ w) (Tetuko 2002), where hi (JERS-1
SAR, hi =38.7° ) and w are incident angle of satellite illumination and angle between
tree trunk to the slope normal (ground data in this area shows w=32° ), respectively.

6. Results and discussion

This study focused on the use of JERS-1 SAR data to estimate diVerent properties,
such as total-tree biomass, age and height, using a least-squares method. This
technique included both a modelling approach and empirical estimations of forest
biomass based on ground data. The relationships from Ž gures 3–5 outline the
possibilities to infer the forest biomass from L-band data in the study area.
Allometric equations performed in this study were used to calculate biomass. It
might also be used to investigate how trunk biomass is related to other ecosystem
factors in stands (equation (9)).
The tree shape coeYcients a, b and c appear to be useful tools for estimating

Table 2. CoeYcients and volume equations.

a b c Equations

Larch 0.17 2.35 1.05 V =0.17R2.35H1.05

Pine 0.97 1.87 0.95 V =0.97R1.87H0.95
Poplar 0.5 1.3 0.43 V =0.5R1.3H0.43
4976 R. T solmon et al.

Figure 2. The incident angle of satellite illumination and the angle between tree trunk to the
normal direction of slope in study area.

Figure 3. The relationship between the larch stand biomass and backscattering coeYcients
for L-band quadratic regressions.

stand biomass and will allow a reŽ nement of the simple methods used in previous
studies. Tree trunk volume, needle weight and root weight were performed for the
estimation of total stand biomass, but further experiments are needed to study crown
biomass and relate it to standard parameters of forests.

Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to MITI/NASDA for supplying the JERS-1 SAR data.
We also thank the referees of IJRS Letters for their valuable comments and
suggestions which improved an earlier version of this letter.
 Remote Sensing L etters 4977

Figure 4. The relationship between the pine stand biomass and backscattering coeYcients
for L-band quadratic regressions.

Figure 5. The relationship between the poplar biomass and backscattering coeYcients for
L-band with quadratic regressions.

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