Proxies for soil organic carbon derived from remote sensing

The possibility of carbon storage in soils is of interest because compared to vegetation it contains more carbon. Estimation of soil carbon through remote sensing based techniques can be a cost effective approach, but is limited by available methods. This study aims to develop a model based on remotely sensed variables (elevation, forest type and above ground biomass) to estimate soil carbon stocks. Field observations on soil organic carbon, species composition, and above ground biomass were recorded in the subtropical forest of Chitwan, Nepal. These variables were also estimated using LiDAR data and a WorldView 2 image. Above ground biomass was estimated from the LiDAR image using a novel approach where the image was segmented to identify individual trees, and for these trees estimates of DBH and Height were made. Based on AIC (Akaike Information Criterion) a regression model with above ground biomass derived from LiDAR data, and forest type derived from WorldView 2 imagery was selected to estimate soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. The selected model had a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.69. This shows the scope of estimating SOC with remote sensing derived variables in sub-tropical forests.

[1]  Markus Steffens,et al.  Carbon storage capacity of semi‐arid grassland soils and sequestration potentials in northern China , 2015, Global change biology.

[2]  Yiqi Luo,et al.  Rates of litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems: global patterns and controlling factors , 2008 .

[3]  P. Nye,et al.  Changes in the soil after clearing tropical forest , 1964, Plant and Soil.

[4]  M. Bell,et al.  Soil carbon sequestration - myths and mysteries , 2009 .

[5]  R. Lal.  Soil carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change , 2004 .

[6]  C. G. Tornquist,et al.  Soil organic carbon stocks of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil , 2009 .

[7]  Brian Murphy,et al.  Relationship between environmental and land-use variables on soil carbon levels at the regional scale in central New South Wales, Australia , 2013 .

[8]  Wenzhong Shi,et al.  Quality assessment for geo‐spatial objects derived from remotely sensed data , 2005 .

[9]  R. Lal,et al.  Soil organic carbon in relation to cultivation and topsoil removal on sloping lands of Kolombangara, Solomon Islands , 2003 .

[10]  Lammert Kooistra,et al.  Soil Organic Carbon mapping of partially vegetated agricultural fields with imaging spectroscopy , 2011, Int. J. Appl. Earth Obs. Geoinformation.

[11]  Sonu Singh,et al.  Species-specific effects of native trees on soil organic carbon in biodiverse plantings across north-central Victoria, Australia , 2011 .

[12]  B. Wesemael,et al.  Prediction of soil organic carbon for different levels of soil moisture using Vis-NIR spectroscopy , 2013 .

[13]  J. Six,et al.  Carbon cycling in eroding landscapes: geomorphic controls on soil organic C pool composition and C stabilization , 2012 .

[14]  Jonathan Gray,et al.  Drivers of soil organic carbon storage and vertical distribution in Eastern Australia , 2015, Plant and Soil.

[15]  Thomas H. Painter,et al.  Climatic, edaphic, and biotic controls over storage and turnover of carbon in soils , 1994 .

[16]  A. Don,et al.  Impact of tropical land‐use change on soil organic carbon stocks – a meta‐analysis , 2011 .

[17]  H. Akaike.  A new look at the statistical model identification , 1974 .

[18]  J. Ruehlmann,et al.  Calculating the Effect of Soil Organic Matter Concentration on Soil Bulk Density , 2009 .

[19]  J. Schimel,et al.  Controls on Soil Carbon Dioxide and Methane Fluxes in a Variety of Taiga Forest Stands in Interior Alaska , 2000, Ecosystems.

[20]  F. Wagner,et al.  Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry , 2003 .

[21]  J. Hassink,et al.  The capacity of soils to preserve organic C and N by their association with clay and silt particles , 1997, Plant and Soil.

[22]  Kacem Chehdi,et al.  Regional prediction of soil organic carbon content over temperate croplands using visible near-infrared airborne hyperspectral imagery and synchronous field spectra , 2016, Int. J. Appl. Earth Obs. Geoinformation.

[23]  Hari Eswaran,et al.  Organic Carbon in Soils of the World , 1993 .

[24]  W. W. Carson,et al.  Accuracy of a high-resolution lidar terrain model under a conifer forest canopy , 2003 .

[25]  Alvaro de Jesús Lema Tapias,et al.  Estimation of biomass and carbon stocks in plants, soil and forest floor in different tropical forests , 2010 .

[26]  Gu Lb,et al.  Soil carbon stocks and land use change : a meta analysis , 2022 .

[27]  L. P. van Reeuwijk,et al.  Procedures for soil analysis , 1995 .

[28]  B. Koch,et al.  Detection of individual tree crowns in airborne lidar data , 2006 .

[29]  D. Peterson,et al.  Carbon distribution in subalpine forests and meadows of the Olympic Mountains, Washington , 2000 .

[30]  S. Reutebuch,et al.  Estimating forest canopy fuel parameters using LIDAR data , 2005 .

[31]  V. L. Mulder,et al.  Understanding large‐extent controls of soil organic carbon storage in relation to soil depth and soil‐landscape systems , 2015 .

[32]  J. Tisdall,et al.  Organic matter and water‐stable aggregates in soils , 1982 .

[33]  Florian Siegert,et al.  Above ground biomass estimation across forest types at different degradation levels in Central Kalimantan using LiDAR data , 2012, Int. J. Appl. Earth Obs. Geoinformation.

[34]  T. Groen,et al.  Contemporary land use/land cover types determine soil organic carbon stocks in south-west Rwanda , 2014, Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems.

[35]  Johan Six,et al.  Carbon Sequestration in Microaggregates of No‐Tillage Soils with Different Clay Mineralogy , 2004 .

[36]  R. Ghimire,et al.  Crop Diversification Improves pH in Acidic Soils , 2016 .

[37]  Shiv O. Prasher,et al.  Development of field-scale soil organic matter content estimation models in eastern Canada using airborne hyperspectral imagery , 2005 .

[38]  D. Wardle,et al.  Fire-Derived Charcoal Causes Loss of Forest Humus , 2008, Science.

[39]  Julie D. Jastrow,et al.  Soil aggregate formation and the accrual of particulate and mineral-associated organic matter , 1996 .

[40]  B. Christensen.  Physical Fractionation of Soil and Organic Matter in Primary Particle Size and Density Separates , 1992 .

[41]  R. B. Jackson,et al.  THE VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION OF SOIL ORGANIC CARBON AND ITS RELATION TO CLIMATE AND VEGETATION , 2000 .

[42]  M. Schaepman,et al.  Spectral reflectance based indices for soil organic carbon quantification , 2008 .

[43]  W. Parton,et al.  Soil pH and organic C dynamics in tropical forest soils : evidence from laboratory and simulation studies , 1995 .

[44]  B. Christensen,et al.  Land‐use effects on the composition of organic matter in particle‐size separates of soils: II. CPMAS and solution 13C NMR analysis , 1995 .

[45]  R. Lal.  Assessment methods for soil carbon , 2001 .

[46]  Subhrajit Saha,et al.  Soil carbon stock in relation to plant diversity of homegardens in Kerala, India , 2009, Agroforestry Systems.

[47]  Rattan Lal,et al.  Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry , 2015 .

[48]  Caspar A. Mücher,et al.  ynergy of airborne LiDAR and Worldview-2 satellite imagery for land over and habitat mapping : A BIO SOS-EODHaM case study for the etherlands , 2015 .

[49]  A. Spain.  Influence of environmental conditions and some soil chemical properties on the carbon and nitrogen contents of some tropical Australian rainforest soils , 1990 .

[50]  P. Lerouge,et al.  N-Glycoprotein biosynthesis in plants: recent developments and future trends , 1998, Plant Molecular Biology.

[51]  Meine van Noordwijk,et al.  Soil carbon dynamics in the humid tropical forest zone , 1997 .

[52]  S. Popescu,et al.  Measuring individual tree crown diameter with lidar and assessing its influence on estimating forest volume and biomass , 2003 .

[53]  Irina Subbotina,et al.  Black carbon decomposition and incorporation into soil microbial biomass estimated by 14C labeling , 2009 .

[54]  Johan Six,et al.  Aggregation and soil organic matter accumulation in cultivated and native grassland soils , 1998 .

[55]  R Core Team,et al.  R: A language and environment for statistical computing. , 2014 .

[56]  K. Paustian,et al.  Soil structure and organic matter: I. Distribution of aggregate-size classes and aggregate-associated carbon. , 2000 .

[57]  David G. Rossiter,et al.  Tutorial : Using the R environment for statistical computing : an example with the Mercer - Hall wheat yield dataset , 2014 .

[58]  G. González,et al.  SOIL FAUNA AND PLANT LITTER DECOMPOSITION IN TROPICAL AND SUBALPINE FORESTS , 2001 .

[59]  R. K. Dixon,et al.  Carbon Pools and Flux of Global Forest Ecosystems , 1994, Science.

[60]  J. Skjemstad,et al.  Black Carbon Increases Cation Exchange Capacity in Soils , 2006 .

[61]  J. Chambers,et al.  Tree allometry and improved estimation of carbon stocks and balance in tropical forests , 2005, Oecologia.