Above ground biomass density (AGBD) and cover for private reserves in Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa

Above Ground Biomass Density (AGBD) was modelled from ALOS2 ScanSAR data using field plot biomass and airborne LiDAR data as reference data. The study area includes the private reserves within Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa. The AGBD modeling was conducted after calculating the mean backscatter of 4 x 4 25m ScanSAR pixels and assigning the mean to a new 100 x 100m (1ha) grid. The modeling workflow involved (i) estimating AGBD within 1 ha field plots (ii) estimating AGBD with airborne LiDAR (ALS) canopy height model metrics (canopy cover and mean canopy height) inside 1ha grid cell and (iii) developing a model (Power Law)that predict AGBD from ScanSAR backscatter based on the widespread ALS AGBD reference data. The Power Law model was used for predicting fractional woody cover (Cover, decimal fraction) from the ScanSAR backscatter data using the ALS canopy cover as reference. Within each 1 ha grid cell, the LiDAR canopy cover reference variable was calculated by dividing the number of the 1 m canopy height model (CHM) pixels with heights above 0.5 m by the total number of CHM pixels.