Assessment of deciduous broadleaf forest volume using Landsat 8 imagery in Buon Don district, Dak Lak province

Abstract

Quantifying forest volume is one of the important steps in estimating forest aboveground biomass and carbon sequestration. Landsat 8 satellite imagery can be used as a cost-effective method of estimating forest volume and be able to update volume change over time very effectively. The purpose of this study is to use Landsat 8 to estimate the volume of deciduous broadleaf forest in Buon Don district, Dak Lak province. The study results indicate that most of the deciduous broadleaf forest area in the study area has the mean volume level of 100-200 m³ ha^-1. The forest areas with volume level less than 100 m³ ha^-1 and greater than 200 m³ ha^-1 occupy a small proportion of total forest area in the region. The distribution map of deciduous broadleaf forest volume in this study can be used for estimating aboveground biomass and carbon storage of the forest as well as a basis for payment of forest carbon storage according to the Decree 99/2010/ND-TTg of the Vietnam government.