The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the capability of radio detection and ranging (radar) data collected by the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture radar (PALSAR), supported by field measurements obtained through ground survey, to predict and map Above Ground Woody Biomass (AGWB) in the tropical savannas of the developing country of Belize, and to understand how the forest structure may influence the backscatter observed. Firstly, an extensive inventory of the woody vegetation of the tropical savannas of Belize was created by measuring the diameter at breast height (dbh), the total height (ht) and the location of 6547 trees in plots covering a total woodland area of 30.8 hectares, located within four protected areas (the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area (11×1ha), Deep River (108×0.1ha) and Manatee Forest Reserve (1ha) and the Bladen Nature Reserve (1ha) and also from plots located in unprotected areas (7×1ha). These measurements of forest structure, when combined with information about forest management practices obtained from local organisations revealed that different forms of protection and management may lead to the development of pine woodlands with different structural characteristics in these savannas. Secondly, a case-study was conducted to establish the sensitivity of the ALOS PALSAR backscatter data to AGWB and determine the effect of sample plot size to their relationship. The findings of this case-study show that the L-band backscatter in these low density pine woodlands is a possible predictor of AGWB and confirm that the appropriate sample plot size for predicting AGWB is one hectare; while the sensitivity degrades significantly with decreasing sample plot size. Taken together, the findings described above were combined to assess the capability of ALOS PALSAR backscatter to predict AGWB in these woodlands. A semi-empirical Water Cloud Model (WCM) describing the interaction between the backscatter and vegetation was re-arranged to enable the prediction of AGWB. Non-linear regression analysis revealed that the ALOS PALSAR backscatter predicted AGWB with an R2=0.92; an external validation conducted with additional ground reference data estimated this AGWB prediction to have an RMSE ~13 t/ha. The form of the regression model linking backscatter to AGWB appears to be particularly influenced by sample plots with higher tree numbers and by plots in which the trees were more homogeneous. The presence of many similar sized individuals within some plots is postulated as one explanation for the elevated saturation level for predictions in this study (> 100 t/ha) compared to other models. The model developed here predicts complete saturation in the backscatter - AGWB relationship to occur primarily as a result of increases in the tree number density and often concurrently in basal area, two parameters which are usually strongly correlated with AGWB in these woodlands. Thirdly, the locally validated relationship between ALOS PALSAR backscatter and AGWB is used to map AGWB for the lowland pine savannas of Belize at a spatial resolution of 100m. The mapping estimates that over 90% of these pine woodlands have an AGWB below 60 t/ha, with the average woody biomass estimated at 23.5 t/ha. When these new predictions are mapped and aggregated over the extents of two protected areas (Rio Bravo and Deep River), the totals obtained agree closely (error ≤20%) with previous estimates of AGWB obtained from ground data and previous research. The combined evidence suggests that woodland protection may produce a small, positive effect upon AGWB, with the mean of the AGWB/ha predictions higher in areas that are protected and managed for biodiversity (29.55 ± 0.84 t/ha) than in other areas that are not protected (23.29 ± 0.19 t/ha). When the fine scale local AGWB mapping produced using ALOS PALSAR is compared cell-by-cell with global biomass products at coarser spatial resolutions (500m and 1000m), the AGWB differences observed range from 115-120%. When the coarser AGWB estimates are aggregated over the extents of Deep River and Rio Bravo, the AGWB totals obtained differ significantly (~280 – 300%) from AGWB estimates from ground data and previous research. Overall, these findings suggest that where sufficient ground data exists to build a reliable local relationship to radar backscatter, more detailed biomass mapping can be produced from ALOS and similar satellite sensor data at resolutions of ~100m. This more accurate and spatially detailed information about the distribution of woody biomass within tropical lowland savannas is more appropriate for monitoring local changes in forest cover and for supporting management decisions for forested areas of around ~10,000ha than estimates based upon previously available, but coarser scale, global biomass products.

Submitted by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2015-12-04T14:46:12Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Mônica Alves de Vasconcelos.pdf: 4440019 bytes, checksum: c44d2ef502b2db9e99beafff1edcc52e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2015-12-04T14:52:00Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Mônica Alves de Vasconcelos.pdf: 4440019 bytes, checksum: c44d2ef502b2db9e99beafff1edcc52e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2015-12-04T15:38:03Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Mônica Alves de Vasconcelos.pdf: 4440019 bytes, checksum: c44d2ef502b2db9e99beafff1edcc52e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-04T15:38:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Mônica Alves de Vasconcelos.pdf: 4440019 bytes, checksum: c44d2ef502b2db9e99beafff1edcc52e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-11-30 / CNPQ - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The regional importance of the Tarumã-Açu River basin, its location and extent, which represents about 12 percent in the city of Manaus, and its current situation of threat due to disorderly occupation problems, forest conversion to other types of use and soil cover, motivated the study of landscape structure analysis of this area. For this analysis a map of use and soil of the basin and cover, and indexes of landscape ecology were produced. Creating the map was based on digital supervised classification (maximum likelihood algorithm) of orbital images active sensor digital ALOSPALSAR of the year 2007, with global accuracy of 77.47. The elements of the landscape studied in this work were those of smearing and array, and the rates of landscape ecology used, that make the fragments-level characterization and use class-level and soil cover. The largest class of land cover found in the rain forest was 64.98 ha, representing 46,001 ha and demonstrating that the studied area had great natural vegetation cover in 2007. The second largest class of soil coverage was represented by the urban area by 18.02, totaling 12,759.53 acres, showing that already at the time (5 years by now), the basin was already in advanced process of occupation and man-made impacts. This can still be justified by the fact the bowl is partially located within the urban area of the city of Manaus. The porosity of the matrix of the basin was represented by 64,282 fragments. This high value is justified by the size of the study area bounded and the spatial resolution of the image ALOSPALSAR with 12.5 meters, which results in a zoom of the study area, highlighting areas usually omitted for images of lower spatial resolution. This high value is justified by the size of the study area bounded and the spatial resolution of the image ALOSPALSAR with 12.5 meters, which results in a zoom of the study area, highlighting areas usually omitted for images of lower spatial resolution. These fragments totaled 24,796.35 ha, total study area 47.07. Of these, 18.02% fragments formed by the urban area, followed by agriculture and secondary by forest, soil and water. The fragment had 95.94 % area class less than 1.0 ha, 3.78% has area between 1.0 and 10 hectares, and only 0.27% has area greater than 10 ha, totaling 174 large fragments. Most of the fragments of size less than 1.0 ha belong to the urban area, showing 48,467 fragments, and in the area greater than 10 ha this kind of coverage presented 59 spots. In relation to the average values and sets, the shape of fragments results were similar for all classes studied - around 2. The results were satisfactory for the studied region, since become required the use of remote sensing techniques due to the climatic characteristics and territorial extension of the Amazon / importância regional da Bacia do Rio Tarumã-Açu, sua localização e extensão, a qual representa cerca de 12% do município de Manaus, e sua atual situação de ameaça devido a problemas de ocupação desordenada, conversão de floresta em outros tipos de uso e cobertura do solo, motivaram o estudo da análise da estrutura paisagem dessa área. Para essa análise foi produzido o mapa de uso e cobertura do solo da bacia e foram utilizados índices de ecologia da paisagem. O mapa de uso e cobertura do solo foi produzido pela classificação digital supervisionada (algoritmo de máxima verossimilhança) de imagens orbitais digitais do sensor ativo ALOS/PALSAR do ano de 2007, com exatidão global de 77,47%. Os elementos da paisagem estudados neste trabalho foram os de mancha e matriz, sendo os índices de ecologia da paisagem utilizados, os que fazem a caracterização em nível de fragmentos e em nível de classes de uso e cobertura do solo. A maior classe de cobertura do solo encontrada na classificação foi a de floresta ombrófila, 64,98%, representando 46.001 hectares, demonstrando que a área de estudo para o ano de 2007 apresentava grande cobertura vegetal natural possivelmente primária. A segunda maior classe de cobertura do solo foi representada pela área urbana por 18,02%, totalizando 12.759,53 hectares, mostrando que já na época, há 5 anos, a bacia já se encontrava em avançado processo de ocupação e impactos antrópicos, isto pode ainda ser justificado pelo fato da bacia está parcialmente localizada dentro da área urbana do município de Manaus. A porosidade da matriz da bacia foi representada por 64.282 fragmentos. Este valor elevado justifica-se pelo tamanho da área de estudo delimitada e da resolução espacial da imagem ALOS/PALSAR com 12,5 metros, que resulta em um "zoom" da área de estudo, destacando áreas geralmente omitidas por imagens de menor resolução espacial. Esses fragmentos totalizaram 24.796,35 hectares, 47,07% da área total de estudo. Destes, 18,02% formados por área urbana, seguidos por agricultura e solo exposto, floresta secundária e água. Os 95,94% dos fragmentos apresentaram classe de área menor que 1,0 ha, 3,78% possuem área entre 1,0 e 10 hectares e apenas 0,27% possui área maior que 10 ha, totalizando 174 grandes fragmentos. A maioria dos fragmentos com área menor que 1,0 ha pertencem à classe área urbana, apresentando 48.467 fragmentos, e na classe de área maior que 10 ha esta classe de cobertura apresentou 59 manchas. Em relação aos valores de média, mediana e moda da forma dos fragmentos os resultados foram semelhantes para todas as classes estudadas, em torno de 2. Os resultados mostraram-se satisfatórios para o referido estudo na região, visto que tornam-se necessários a utilização de técnicas de sensoriamento remoto devido as características climáticas e extensão territorial da Amazônia.