The BOREAS Information System
Terrestrial Ecology (TE)


TE-16: Land Cover and Primary Productivity in the Boreal Forest


P.I.(s): Josef Cihlar -- Canada Center for Remote Sensing (CCRS)
Co-I(s): Zhanqing Li, Jing M. Chen -- CCRS; Raymond Desjardins -- Agriculture Canada

Objectives: The study is aimed at addressing the use of satellite data in ecological monitoring with emphasis on two parameters, land cover and ecosystem productivity. For land cover, the objective of the research is to determine improvements in land cover type identification with data from future sensors (simulated MODIS, Radarsat SAR), compared to research presently underway which emphasizes AVHRR. For productivity, the principal objective is to assess the feasibility of estimating forest primary productivity and net primary productivity using models that can be realistically applied over large areas yet have high spatial resolution. To be practical, the models should require a minimum of data that:

  1. can be obtained from satellites, or
  2. can be cost-effectively obtained over large areas
Such models have been formulated and tested in recent years, and will be included among those models studied in other BOREAS investigations. The intention in this study is to focus on the contribution of remote sensing data at the landscape and regional levels, and to collaborate with modelers in validating remote sensing inputs and model performance. Specific tasks to be carried out include: improvement in land cover determination and information on seasonal dynamics from simulated MODIS and RADARSAT SAR data; derivation of site and landscape ecosystem parameters (bidirectional surface reflectance, vegetation indices, vegetation density) from optical data in relation to the sensor spatial resolution (102m to > 103m); feasibility of direct APAR estimation from AVHRR and similar data; the relationship of instantaneous gas (CO2, H2O) exchange to satellite-derived reflectance and emission quantities; and derivation of the above and related quantities for testing ecosystem productivity models at the regional level.

TE-16 Data Sets

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    Last Updated: October 29, 1997