Biomass Estimation of Urban Forests Using LiDAR and High-Resolution Aerial Imagery in Athens–Clarke County, GA

Abstract

The benefits and services of urban forests are becoming increasingly well documented, with carbon storage being the main focus of attention. Recent efforts in urban remote sensing have incorporated additional data such as LiDAR data but have been limited to sections of an urban area or only certain species. Existing models are not generalizable to remaining unmeasured urban trees. To make a generalizable individual urban tree model, we used metrics from NAIP aerial imagery and NOAA and USGS LiDAR data for 2013 and 2019, and two crown-level urban tree biomass models were developed. We ran a LASSO regression, which selected the best variables for the biomass model, followed by a 10-fold cross-validation. The 2013 model had an adjusted R2 value of 0.85 and an RMSE of 1797 kg, whereas the 2019 model had an adjusted R2 value of 0.87 and an RMSE of 1444 kg. The 2019 model was then applied to the rest of the unsampled trees to estimate the total biomass and total carbon stored for all the trees in the county. Recommendations include changes to ground inventory techniques to adapt to the current methods and limitations of remote sensing biomass estimation.