GEDI Gridded Aboveground Biomass Density at 1 km Resolution

NASA's Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) L4B dataset provides 1 km x 1 km gridded estimates of mean aboveground biomass density (AGBD) for terrestrial ecosystems. The data is derived from lidar waveform observations collected between mission week 19 (April 2019) and mission week 223 (March 2023), using a hybrid model-based statistical inference method. This product includes corresponding estimates of standard error to quantify uncertainty from sampling and modeling processes.

Use Cases

• Modeling terrestrial carbon stocks and fluxes using gridded biomass density estimates.
• Assessing changes in forest biomass over time across the 2019-2023 observation period.
• Validating and calibrating other biomass estimation models or satellite products.
• Incorporating biomass uncertainty (standard error) into ecological or climate risk analyses.

Strengths

• Provides a consistent, global 1 km resolution grid of aboveground biomass density.
• Includes estimates of standard error for each grid cell, quantifying measurement and sampling uncertainty.
• Based on high-quality GEDI lidar waveform data collected over a nearly four-year time range (2019-2023).

Limitations

• Biomass values are modeled predictions subject to error, not direct measurements.
• Specific column names and the total number of data rows are not provided in the available metadata.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2026-03 13 on datagov vs. 2023-03-16 on NASA Earthdata).

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Statistical inference from GEDI L4A footprint-level biomass predictions, gridded to 1 km cells as described in the GEDI L4B Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document.

Time Range

2019-04-18 to 2023-03-16

Freshness

2026-03-13 02:36:49.747801

Geography

Global terrestrial coverage