Review of the use of remote sensing for biomass estimation to support renewable energy generation

Abstract

The quantification, mapping and monitoring of biomass are now centralissues due to the importance of biomass as a renewable energy source inmany countries of the world. The estimation of biomass is a challengingtask, especially in areas with complex stands and varying environmentalconditions, and requires accurate and consistent measurement methods. Toefficiently and effectively use biomass as a renewable energy source, itis important to have detailed knowledge of its distribution, abundance,and quality. Remote sensing offers the technology to enable rapidassessment of biomass over large areas relatively quickly and at a lowcost. This paper provides a comprehensive review of biomass assessmenttechniques using remote sensing in different environments and usingdifferent sensing techniques. It covers forests, savannah, andgrasslands/rangelands, and for each of these environments, reviews keywork that has been undertaken and compares the techniques that have beenthe most successful. (C) The Authors. Published by SPIE under a CreativeCommons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproductionof this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of theoriginal publication, including its DOI.