Gridded estimates of aboveground biomass (AGB) for live dry woody vegetation at approximately 500-meter resolution. The dataset provides a baseline stock for 2003 and annual change from 2003 to 2016 across the Amazon Basin, Mexico, and a pantropical belt. Estimates were generated using a machine-learning algorithm calibrated with field measurements and NASA LiDAR data, incorporating satellite, climate, and soil predictor variables.
Use Cases
- Modeling carbon sequestration and emissions based on annual aboveground biomass change data.
- Assessing forest degradation and recovery patterns across the Amazon Basin and Mexico using the 14-year time series.
- Calibrating regional or global carbon cycle models with wall-to-wall raster estimates derived from satellite and LiDAR inputs.
- Quantifying net change in aboveground carbon density over the study period for climate policy reporting.
Strengths
- Provides a 14-year time series (2003-2016) of annual biomass change at a consistent spatial resolution.
- Covers three distinct geographies: the Amazon Basin, Mexico, and a pantropical belt from 40°N to 30°S.
- Uses a multi-step modeling approach combining field data, NASA LiDAR, and machine learning with a suite of satellite and ancillary predictors.
- Data are licensed under CC-BY-4.0, permitting open sharing and adaptation.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
- The spatial resolution of approximately 500 meters may be too coarse for fine-scale local analysis.
Provenance
- Source
- aws_open_data platform, likely originating from NASA Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) research.
- Collection Method
- Machine-learning algorithm calibrated with field measurements and NASA ICESat GLAS LiDAR data, using MODIS, WorldClim, and SoilGrids as predictor variables.
- Time Range
- Baseline year 2003 and annual change from 2003 to 2016.
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Amazon Basin, Mexico, and a pantropical belt from 40 degrees North to 30 degrees South latitudes.