J O E M A S C A R O , G R E G A S N E R ,

H E L E N E M U L L E R - L A N D A U E T A L .

D E P A R T M E N T O F G L O B A L E C O L O G Y

C A R N E G I E I N S T I T U T I O N F O R S C I E N C E

S M I T H S O N I A N T R O P I C A L R E S E A R C H I N S T I T U T E

Beyond Forest Cover:High-resolution Carbon Mapping

for REDD+

Panama is a Thriving Economy

Panama had the highest 2008 GDP (both per-capita and absolute) among all Central American nations (FAO).

Deforestation in Panama

Over the period from 2000 to 2010, Panama experienced 0.4% forest loss per year (FAO), a lower relative rate than all but one Central American nation, and a decline from forest loss in the previous decade.

Net changes in forest cover mask a higher loss of primary forest, however—much of which is balanced by secondary re-growth and plantations.

Understanding these relative changes, beyond simply forest cover, is essential to monitoring the welfare of carbon stocks and emission in support of REDD.

Carnegie Airborne Observatory

Laser-guided Spectroscopy of Tropical Canopies

Light Detection and Ranging or “LiDAR”

Three-dimensional Canopy Structure

Carnegie’s REDDlite approach

Satellite mapping of forest cover and changes in cover using CLASlite

Habitat map

Field calibration of LiDAR

LiDAR assessment of carbon storage across habitats

Average aboveground carbon density, IPCC 2006

• Tropical landscapes are treated as if there is some average carbon stock.

• What are the local to regional scale controls over carbon stocks?

Forest Change - 1999 to 2010

Habitat Map by the Peruvian Ministry of Environment

Integrating Airborne and Field MeasurementsMeasurements

Converting Airborne LiDAR to Aboveground Carbon Density

Example CAO Lidar Data:Interoceanic Hwy, Peruvian Amazon

Regional-scale Variation in Aboveground Carbon Stocks

Progress in Panama

LiDAR calibration

Carbon Mappingin the BarroColorado Nature Monument

Movie Time

Future Work

Habitat stratification

Dynamic change

Wall-to-wall carbon storage

The CAO Team

Acknowledgements

The CAO is made possible by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the W.M. Keck Foundation, and William R. Hearst III.

Additional funding from HSBC, the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the Grantham Foundation, the NASA Biodiversity Program, and the National Science Foundation

The CAO team includes Dave Knapp, Guayana Paez-Acosta, Ty Kennedy-Bowdoin, James Jacobson, John Clark, Robin Martin, Aravindh Balaji, and others.