Using LiDAR to estimate carbon storage levels in above-ground tree biomass in Sahelian agroforestry systems

Home laboratory: Laboratory of Ecology and Ecohydrology, Department of Plant Biology, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal

Host laboratory: CIRAD - Eco & Sols, Montpellier, France
 

Duration: June 25–September 23, 2024

In Senegal, extreme variability in seasonal rainfall, in tandem with human activities, is contributing to deforestation and affecting the global carbon cycle. It is crucial to characterise the carbon storage capacities of common species in Senegalese silvopastoral agroforestry ecosystems if we wish to develop sustainable management systems and strategies that improve the carbon balance. This mobility project will use LiDAR to non-destructively estimate wood volumes, including trees of small diameter. Its approach utilises structural equations derived from destructive measurements on a small sample of branches, which makes it possible to non-destructively estimate the diameters of all trees, following topology reconstruction via PlantSacn3D. These data can then be employed to develop standard allometric equations for Faidherbia albida and Acacia raddiana.