Lowveld SAR Above Ground Woody Biomass (tDM/ha)

Above ground woody biomass: The above ground woody biomass is the total dry biomass of woody plants above 1m height and is expressed in tonnes per hectare. The product was developed through the integration of 2010 ALOS PALSAR-1 synthetic aperture radar images, LiDAR tracks, and field data of woody biomass. The LiDAR tracks were processed to derive a canopy height model for woody vegetation above 1 m at 1m pixel size. A detailed LiDAR aboveground woody biomass product was generated at 25m pixel size using LiDAR woody cover and height products and field data. The dual-polarized (HV, HH) SAR bands were modelled using the LiDAR woody aboveground biomass as reference data for calibration and validation of the final SAR woody aboveground biomass map.

Units: Above ground (woody) biomass (tonnes) per hectare