Estimating carbon and greenhouse gas emissions in remote regions of Canada

Abstract

Longer growing seasons in Northern Ontario are predicted, as a result of climate change. There is the expectation that there will be increased land use conversion from natural forests in Northern Ontario to capitalise on the new economic opportunities resulting from longer growing seasons. This study examines the impacts the land conversion - from forest to agricultural environment - has on the greenhouse gas emissions and soil properties. We use remote sensing technologies for detecting these changes. This paper highlights an automatic method we developed for change detection. The method was applied to the satellite data over a predominantly vegetated area of Northern Ontario for the period 2001 to 2016. The study showed how the forest air and soil properties transform over time from various land disturbances, and how subsequent management schemes affect the environmental properties such as greenhouse gas emissions and the soil carbon stock.