Ministry for Primary Industries

Trialling Spectral Imaging for Measuring Forests

The Maximising Forest Carbon (MFC) programme is exploring the use of new technologies to measure carbon storage in forests more efficiently and cost-effectively.

MPI is looking for suppliers to pilot remote sensing technologies that can be used to improve how we collect information for and administer information to the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

• Project A seeks to estimate the volume/biomass of forests using a combination of remote sensing technology in old-growth indigenous forests, tackling the detection of canopy damage. This work will improve our understanding of the impact of introduced browsers on forest carbon by linking active management benefits to measurable differences in carbon stocks.

• Project B seek estimate the volume/biomass of forests using a combination of remote sensing technology, addressing the challenge of accurately classifying and identifying forest types according to their species age and composition. It seeks to provide a solution to the conceptual dilemma surrounding the most effective method for this categorisation across the varying New Zealand indigenous and exotic forests-types that is suitable for supporting registration and monitoring of a forest within the ETS.

Department/Business Unit: Te Uru Rakau - Forestry NZ