Biomass estimation of Pinus radiata (D. Don) stands in Northwestern Spain by unmixing CCD CBERS data

Remote sensing techniques provide information about volume, biomass and other biophysical parameters of forest stands. The estimation of biomass by satellite remote sensing has been tested considering a wide range of spatial scales, environments and methods. Although both its spatial resolution (20×20 m) and spectral resolution (5 bands) enable important applications in forestry research, Chinese-Brazilian Earth Resources Satellite (CBERS) data had not been used for this purpose in Europe yet. In this work, we examined the potential of the fraction images obtained by unmixing the Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) CBERS data for estimating Pinus radiata (D. Don) stand attributes, especially biomass, in a Northwestern Spain region. Fraction images from spectral unmixing show biophysics properties more easily than original bands because they represent physics aspects of ground covers. Preliminary results are satisfactory and reinforce the conviction of usefulness of CCD CBERS fraction images in assessing forestry systems in Spain.