Forest applications with hyperspectral imaging

The world´s forests generate oxygen and store carbon, mitigating global climate change. Monitoring the health of these forests is an international priority, which benefits from the use of remote sensing. With hyperspectral sensors capable of discerning forest species and foliar chemistry, many forest information products can be generated including maps of forest species, canopy chemistry, biomass, and carbon. Methods and challenges related to forest monitoring and mapping are discussed, with reference to our past and current work in the field of hyperspectral imaging, and with an emphasis on biomass and carbon mapping. The processes explained in this paper have been tested primarily on a study site on Vancouver Island, Canada.