ã2017CaliforniaInstituteofTechnology.Governmentsponsorshipacknowledged.

NISAR:TheNISAR-ISROSARMission

ForestManagementandMonitoringForestmanagersandagroforestryindustryareinneedofaccurateandtimelydataoverlargeareastoassessforestdevelopmentandprescribeactionsnecessarytoachieveregenerationobjectives.Increasingemphasisonecosystemmanagement,escalatingsilvicultural(e.g.

reforestation)treatmentcosts,evolvingcomputer-baseddecisionsupporttools,anddemandsforgreateraccountabilityhaveproducedsignificantdemandsforspatialdataonforeststructureandproductivityatnationalandsubnationalscalesglobally.

MakingLargeScaleStewardshipofForestResourcesaReality

NISARisdesignedtomonitorglobalforestextentandqualityandtoprovideaccurateandtimelyinformationonforestvolumeandproductsforsustainabledevelopmentandmanagementofecosystemgoodsandservices.

A 21st-Century Global Forest WatchForestecosystemsprovidetimber,fuel,andbioproductsandavarietyofservicesbysequesteringcarbonintheatmosphere,purifyingwaterandair,andmaintainingwildlifehabitat.OneofthegreatestchallengesfacingforestmanagersintheUSandelsewhereintheworldistomaintainthehealthandresilienceoftheforestecosystems.Thisrequiresacoordinatedeffortforsystematicmonitoringofforestcover,volume,andproductivity,todeveloptechniquesandpoliciesforimprovingthestockandsustainableuseofwoodybiomass.

OpticalsatelliteobservationsasinLandsathaveplayedamajorroleinmonitoringtheforestcoverandchangesglobally.But,withtheadventofmodernradartechniquesasinNISAR,frequentanduninterruptedobservationsofforestvolumecanbecomeareliabledataandtoolforforestmanagerstoassessforeststatus.

TheNISARMission–GlobalObservatoryofForestEcosystemsNISARisscheduledtolaunchin2021andwillprovideallweather,day/nightimagingofnearlytheentirevegetationoftheEarth4-5timesamonth,withthecapabilityofmonitoringforestcoverchangegloballyandprovidinginformationonwoodybiomassformostforesttypes.TheNISARmissionwillprovidealltheNISARimageryalongwithNASAproductsandtools,freeofchargetoallcommunities.

L-bandairborneradardatacollectedovertropicalforestsofPapuaNewGuineain2000tocapturethevariationsinforesttypes,biomass,anddegreeofdisturbanceandrecovery.

Photos(clockwise):Flickr:JohanWeiland(CCBY-NC2.0),USFS,Flickr:NeilPalmer/CIAT(CCBY-NC2.0),NASA/GSFCS

ã2017CaliforniaInstituteofTechnology.Governmentsponsorshipacknowledged.

Cont.fromfrontpage

IntheUS,theForestandRangelandRenewableResourcesPlanningActof1974directedtheSecretaryofAgriculturetomakeandkeepcurrentacomprehensiveinventoryforaprospectiveRenewableResourcesAssessmentoftheforestandrangelandsoftheUS.Theseassessmentswerefocusedonanalysisofpresentandanticipateduses,demandfor,andsupplyoftherenewableresources,withconsiderationoftheinternationalresourcesituationandwithastrongemphasisofpertinentsupply,demandandpricetrends.Withincreasingtreatstoforestresourcesfromdroughts,fire,andfragmentations,trackingtheforesthealth,biomassstock,andtangibleproductssuchastimberhasbecomevitaltonationalsecuritybothathomeandglobally.Movingtowardaninclusivemonitoringsystem,thatcanaugmentandenhancethenationalinventorydata,requiresadeparturefromthepastremotesensingofonlytheforestcover.Newactiveremotesensingtechniquesusinglidarandradar,withthe

capabilitytomeasureforestheightandvolumerespectively,highresolutionspatialdataonforeststructureandbiomassdensitycanbereadilyintegratedintheexistingforestinventorysystems.TheupcomingNISARmissionwillcollecthighresolution(25m)imageryofglobalforestsandshrublands30timesperyearwiththeabilitytoobserveforestsweekly.Microwavesignals(L-andS-band,orequivalently,24cmand10cmwavelength)willberecordedanddistributedattimescalesthatarecommensuratewiththeneedofforestryorganizationsandindustryintheU.S.andaroundtheworld.NISARimageswillprovidewall-to-wallinformationthataresensitivetoabovegroundforeststructureandcanbeconvertedtoforestvolumeandbiomassoncecalibratedwiththeforestinventorydata.Themeasurementscollectedevery6dayscanhelpmonitorforestdisturbanceandrecoveryfrombothnaturalandhumansourcesallowingmanagerstoimproveforesthealthandproducts.

NationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration Formoreinformation,visithttp://nisar.jpl.nasa.gov/applications

JetPropulsionLaboratory/CaliforniaInstituteofTechnology/Pasadena,California/www.jpl.nasa.gov

WithanincreaseintheriskoflargefiresacrossmuchoftheUnitedStates,alongwithagrowingvarietyoffueltypesthatresultfromchangesinthelandscapeandmanagementstrategies,therehasneverbeenamorepressingneedforaccurate,cost-efficient,largescalemapsofforestbiomass,fuelloadsandmapsofdisturbanceandrecovery.Emergingremotesensingtechnologiesmayyieldexactlythekindoflargescalemapsneededtomoreaccuratelypredictforestbiomass,fuelloads,firerisk,andfirebehavior.“Thetechnologyisnowtheretouseradartoestimateforestfirefuelload(e.g.branchandstembiomass).Andtheteamrecognizedthatamuchmoreefficient,accurate,andcosteffectiveapproachtosensingforeststructureandfuels—andthenmappingthem—mightlieattheheartofradarremotesensingtechnology,”saidbiologistDonDespain,nowretiredfromtheUSGeologicalSurveyinMontana,whowasinstrumentalingeneratingthefiremanagementplansfortheYellowstoneNationalPark.Shownatrightisthederivedforestvolumefromairborneradardata(AIRSAR)dataovertheYellowStoneNationalPark.NISAR—withsimilarmeasurementswillprovidehigh—resolutionradarimagerytoallowmonitoringchangesofforestvolumeandfuelloadsacrosstheparkontheweeklytimescales.

Radar Imaging of Forest Volume and Disturbance

YellowstoneNationalPark

L-bandairborneradardatacollectedovertheYellowstoneNationalParkin2003wasusedtodevelopmapsofforestvolumeandfirefuelloadtohelpwithparkmanagementandfiresuppressionforimprovingtherecreationalresourcesandrevenues.(Saatchietal.2007).