LiDAR-Derived Forest Biomass and Canopy Metrics for Sonoma County 2013

Forest biomass, canopy height, and tree cover estimates at 30-meter resolution for Sonoma County, California, USA, for the nominal year 2013. The dataset was produced by NASA using LiDAR data, field plot measurements, and random forest modeling. It includes estimates of above-ground biomass uncertainty alongside the primary metrics.

Use Cases

• Modeling regional carbon storage using the above-ground biomass (AGB) estimates in Mg/ha.
• Analyzing forest structure and habitat using the maximum canopy height layer.
• Assessing forest density and fragmentation patterns with the percent tree cover data.
• Quantifying uncertainty in biomass predictions for sensitivity analyses using the provided AGB uncertainty estimates.
• Calibrating or validating broader-scale satellite-derived biomass products with this localized, LiDAR-based dataset.

Strengths

• Provides three core forest structure variables (biomass, height, cover) at a detailed 30-meter spatial resolution.
• Derived from a multi-source methodology combining LiDAR, field plots, and random forest modeling for improved accuracy.
• Includes estimates of uncertainty for the above-ground biomass variable, supporting robust analysis.

Limitations

• Row count, total size, and specific column names are not provided by any source.
• Conflicting last updated dates exist between platforms (2013-12-31 on NASA Earthdata vs. 2026-03 13 on Data.gov).
• Temporal coverage is limited to a single nominal year (2013) for one county.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Generated using LiDAR data, field plot measurements, and random forest modeling approaches.

Time Range

2013

Freshness

2026-03-13 18:24:03.067606

Geography

Sonoma County, California, USA