Estimation of Carbon Sequestration in Community forests using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technique: A Case Study of Ban Bu Ta Tong Community forest, Nakornratchasima Province.

Abstract

This study aims to estimate the amount of sequestrated carbon in the community forest at Ban Bu Ta Tong, Nakornratchasima province using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle technique (UVA). This technique obtained height of surface as point clouds, which were subsequently converted into Digital Surface Model (DSM) and Digital Terrain Model (DEM). Height of individual trees are derived by subtracting DSM and DEM over tree crown identified by visual interpretation. We also conducted field measurement of Individual tree heights (H) and diameter at the breath height of trees (DBH) in 10 plots of 40 * 40 meters for accuracy assessment of data obtained by UAV technique. Relations between H and DBH were formulated and used to estimate biomass and carbon amount of individual trees in the plots though allometric equations of deciduous dipterocarp forest type. The results show that height of trees derived by UAV techniques are strongly correlated to the field data (r² between 0.715 –0.898). Average errors in tree height range between -0.025 to 0.07 meters among plots. The amount of carbon storage for all individual trees in the plots estimated using UAV data is different from those estimated using field data in a range of 13%-59%. These discrepancies can be explained by errors in estimating DBH given H from UAV since there is no clear relation between H and DBH in the plots. The amount of carbon for the entire forest is about 1827 tons or 9.13 tons per rai. This study may be used as a prototype in carbon estimation using UAV that can be further applied to forests in other areas with more complex tree structure.