Covering recent developments in satellite observation data undertaken for monitoring forest areas from global to national levels, this book highlights operational tools and systems for monitoring forest ecosystems. It also tackles the technical issues surrounding the ability to produce accurate and consistent estimates of forest area changes, which are needed to report greenhouse gas emissions and removals from land use changes. Written by leading global experts in the field, this book offers a launch point for future advances in satellite-based monitoring of global forest resources. It gives readers a deeper understanding of monitoring methods and shows how state-of-art technologies may soon provide key data for creating more balanced policies.

Why Forest Monitoring Matters for People and the Planet. Role of Forests and Impact of Deforestation in the Global Carbon Cycle. Use of Earth Observation Technology to Monitor Forests over the Globe. Global Data Availability from US Satellites: Landsat and MODIS. Sampling Strategies for Forest Monitoring from Global to National Levels. Use of Coarse Resolution Imagery to Identify Hot Spots of Forest Loss at the Global Scale. Use of a Systematic Statistical Sample with Moderate Resolution Imagery to Assess Forest Cover Changes at Tropical to Global Scale. Monitoring Forest Loss and Degradation at National to Global Scales Using Landsat Data. The Brazilian Amazon Monitoring Program: PRODES and DETER Projects. Monitoring of Forest Degradation: A Review of Methods in the Amazon Basin. Use of Wall-to-Wall Moderate and High-Resolution Satellite Imagery to Monitor Forest Cover Across Europe. Monitoring US Forest Dynamics with Landsat. Long-Term Monitoring of Australian Land Cover Change Using Landsat Data: Development, Implementation, and Operation. Assessment of Burned Forest Areas over the Russian Federation from MODIS and Landsat-TM/ETM+ Imagery. Global Forest Monitoring with Radar (SAR) Data. Future Perspectives (Way Forward). Index.