Mugabowindekwe Maurice, Brandt Martin, Chave Jérôme, Reiner Florian, Skole David L, Kariryaa Ankit, Igel Christian, Hiernaux Pierre, Ciais Philippe, Mertz Ole, Tong Xiaoye, Li Sizhuo, Rwanyiziri Gaspard, Dushimiyimana Thaulin, Ndoli Alain, Uwizeyimana Valens, Lillesø Jens-Peter Barnekow, Gieseke Fabian, Tucker Compton J, Saatchi Sassan, Fensholt Rasmus
Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Centre for Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing, College of Science and Technology, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda.
Nat Clim Chang. 2023;13(1):91-97. doi: 10.1038/s41558-022-01544-w. Epub 2022 Dec 22.
Trees sustain livelihoods and mitigate climate change but a predominance of trees outside forests and limited resources make it difficult for many tropical countries to conduct automated nation-wide inventories. Here, we propose an approach to map the carbon stock of each individual overstory tree at the national scale of Rwanda using aerial imagery from 2008 and deep learning. We show that 72% of the mapped trees are located in farmlands and savannas and 17% in plantations, accounting for 48.6% of the national aboveground carbon stocks. Natural forests cover 11% of the total tree count and 51.4% of the national carbon stocks, with an overall carbon stock uncertainty of 16.9%. The mapping of all trees allows partitioning to any landscapes classification and is urgently needed for effective planning and monitoring of restoration activities as well as for optimization of carbon sequestration, biodiversity and economic benefits of trees.
树木维持生计并缓解气候变化，但森林外树木占主导且资源有限，这使得许多热带国家难以开展全国性的自动化清查。在此，我们提出一种方法，利用2008年的航空影像和深度学习，在卢旺达全国范围内绘制每棵上层树木的碳储量图。我们发现，72%的已绘制树木位于农田和稀树草原，17%位于种植园，占全国地上碳储量的48.6%。天然林占树木总数的11%，占全国碳储量的51.4%，总体碳储量不确定性为16.9%。绘制所有树木的分布图有助于划分到任何景观类别，这对于有效规划和监测恢复活动以及优化树木的碳固存、生物多样性和经济效益来说是迫切需要的。
