Readiness of ICOS for necessities of integrated global observations (RINGO).

Readiness of ICOS for Necessities of integrated Global Observations (RINGO) is a H2020 EU project that serves to further developed and support the ICOS research infrastructure. Within this project the University of Antwerp has a task that aims to investigate the ability to apply terrestrial light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) measurements to estimate above ground biomass at forest ecosystems. Aboveground biomass is crucial component of the carbon balance of forest ecosystems however it is very difficult to accurately estimate. LiDAR is a new and promising technique that offers the possibility to obtain highly accurate estimates of tree volumes. Within this project we will select several test sites in Belgium with different tree species which will be scanned and at each site several trees will be destructively harvested to validate estimated volume. In a second stage several ICOS sites in Belgium and neighbouring countries will be visited to perform LiDAR scans in order to estimate Aboveground biomass accurately. The outcome of this project will be a protocol to perform LiDAR measurements at the ICOS ecosystem station.

Keywords:CLIMATE CHANGE

Disciplines:Ecology, Environmental science and management, Other environmental sciences

Project type:Collaboration project