Prospects of Geographic Information System and Multi-Source Data Integration in Enhancing the Accuracy of Above-Ground Biomass and Carbon Stocks Estimation

Abstract

Evaluating Above-Ground Biomass (AGB) accurately and the successive calculation of carbon stocks are fundamental process for understanding the global carbon cycle, climate change mitigation and sustainable forest management. The traditional field-based methods for AGB and carbon stocks assessment is effective; but then, they involve more cost, time, and they are not scalable to a large area. Thus, the utilization of cutting-edge technology to support the conventional approach is expedient. This study is a mini review that discuss the prospects of Geographic Information System (GIS) and the need to integrate various data in evaluating AGB and carbon stocks. First, literature search was conducted based on which relevant and quality published articles were selected and used to discuss the topic. The result signifies that the spatially explicit GIS-based techniques can be used to create georeferenced estimates of AGB, and carbon sink/stock potential. Also, data from different sources has their unique advantages and drawbacks, which can affect the accuracy of AGB and carbon stocks assessment. However, integrating these data has proven to be highly efficient. Summarily, GIS provides the essential platform for acquiring, integrating, analyzing, and visualizing diverse data sources. This enables the creation of spatially continuous and accurate map of AGB and carbon stocks across landscapes, regions and continents.