Estimación de Biomasa Aérea y Carbono con Teledetección en Bosques Alto-Andinos de Boyacá, Colombia. Estudio de caso: Santuario de Fauna y Flora Iguaque

Abstract

Remote sensing tools are key for monitoring of biomass and carbon in forests, which are important to climate change mitigation. Aboveground biomass and carbon of the high-land andean forests of the Santuario de Fauna y Flora Iguaque (SFFI), Boyacá, Colombia was estimated through remote sensing techniques. A total of 23 temporal sampling plots of 250 m² were established and all individuals with diameter at breast height (dbh) > 10 cm were measured. Aboveground biomass was estimated using an allometric equation and statically correlated with vegetation indexes (NDVI, SAVI AND EVI) obtained from LANDSAT 8 OLI in the dry and rainy season (2016). Lineal models were tested to estimated biomass based on vegetation index and carbon storage was estimated. The SFFI forests stored 30 t/ha of carbon in aboveground biomass and the best-fit model was based on NDVI in the dry season (adjR² = 0.79). Maps of biomass and carbon distribution were developed. The forests of the SSFI have removed 164 Gg CO₂ from atmosphere, which can be emitted in case of no conserve them. The areas with the greatest biomass and carbon were located in the southwest and north of the SFFI. With this study, a first approximation of the pattern of carbon and biomass distribution with a resolution of 30 m was carried out. It is tested that the use of remote sending data as a fundamental input for the monitoring of carbon projects in forestry ecosystems.