Modelling and Mapping Above Ground Biomass Using Sentinel 2 and Planet Scope Remotely Sensed Data in West Usambara Tropical Rainforests, Tanzania

Abstract Forest biomass estimation using field -based inventories at a large scale is challenging and generally entails large uncertainty in tropical regions. With their wall-to-wall coverage ability, optical remote sensing signals had gained a wide acceptance for larger scale estimation of AGB at different spatial scales, ranging from local to global. However, their applicability in tropical forests is still limited. In this study, we investigated the performance of Sentinel 2 and Planet Scope remotely sensed data for AGB modelling, predicting and mapping in the tropical rainforest of Tanzania. A total of 296 field inventory plots were measured across the west Usambara mountain forests. AGB values were computed for each of the field plot in Mg/ha, and related with remotely sensed predictor variables using parametric and non- parametric statistical methods. Band values, vegetation indices and texture based variables were derived from each of the remotely sensed data. The AGB models were developed and validated using k-fold cross validation and their relative root mean square error (cvRMSEr%) were used to judge their accuracies. Relative efficiency (RE) of each dataset as compared to pure field inventory was also computed. The results showed that, Sentinel 2 based model fitted using generalized linear models (RMSEr = 67.00 % and pseudo-R2= 20%) had better performance as compared to Planet Scope based models (cvRMSEr = 72.1 % and pseudo-R2= 5.2%). Overall GLMs resulted into a models with less prediction error as compared to random forest when using Sentinel 2 data. However, for the Planet Scope, there was marginal improvement of using random forest (cvRMSEr = 72.0%) as compared to GLMs. Models, that in cooperated texture variables resulted into better prediction accuracy as compared to those with band values and indices only. The R.E values for Sentinel2 and Planet Scope were 1.2 and 1.1 respectively. Our study had demonstrated that Sentinel 2 and Planet Scope remotely sensed data can be used to develop cost-effective method for AGB estimation within the context of tropical rainforests of Tanzania. Further studies are however encouraged to look more on the best way of optimizing the efficiency of the two data sources in AGB estimations.