Mapping Height and Biomass of Mangrove Forests in Everglades National Park with SRTM Elevation Data

Authors

Marc Simard, Radar and Engineering Section, Caltech-Jet Propulsion LaboratoryFollow
Keqi Zhang, International Hurricane Research Center & Department of Environmental Studies, Florida International UniversityFollow
Victor H. Rivera-Monroy, Wetland Biogeochemistry Institute, Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State UniversityFollow
Michael S. Ross, Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International UniversityFollow
Pablo L. Ruiz, Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International UniversityFollow
Edward Castañeda-Moya, Wetland Biogeochemistry Institute, Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State UniversityFollow
Robert R. Twilley, Wetland Biogeochemistry Institute, Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State UniversityFollow
Ernesto Rodriguez, Radar and Engineering Section, Caltech-Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Abstract

We produced a landscape scale map of mean tree height in mangrove forests in Everglades National Park (ENP) using the elevation data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). The SRTM data was calibrated using airborne lidar data and a high resolution USGS digital elevation model (DEM). The resulting mangrove height map has a mean tree height error of 2.0 m (RMSE) over a pixel of 30 m. In addition, we used field data to derive a relationship between mean forest stand height and biomass in order to map the spatial distribution of standing biomass of mangroves for the entire National Park. The estimation showed that most of the mangrove standing biomass in the ENP resides in intermediate- height mangrove stands around 8 m. We estimated the total mangrove standing biomass in ENP to be 5.6 X 109 kg.

Comments

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation through the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research program under Cooperative Agreements #DBI-0620409 and #DEB-9910514. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Recommended Citation

Simard, M., K. Zhang, V.H. Rivera-Monroy, M.S. Ross, P.L. Ruiz, E. Castaneda-Moya, R.R. Twilley, E. Rodriguez. 2006. Mapping Height and Biomass of Mangrove Forests in Everglades National Park with SRTM Elevation Data. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 72(3): 299-311.