How can the dynamics of the tundra-taiga boundary be remotely monitored?

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses some of the difficulties in establishing the location of the Arctic treeline and forest line on a circumpolar basis, and the contribution that remote sensing, particularly from spaceborne platforms, can make in resolving them. Spaceborne techniques can provide spatial resolutions as fine as a few meters, although the requirements for regional or global coverage are likely to limit the resolution to 30 to 100 m. Since this will preclude the identification of individual trees, the definition of the treeline will be based on statistical parameters estimated from satellite images. The optimum criteria for these parameters remain to be determined. Most remote-sensing observations that are suited to the measurement of the distribution of vegetation, and identification of its type, are based on the visible and near-infrared (VIR) parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, although there is increasing interest in the use of active microwave (radar) techniques. We discuss the basis of both types of approach and the techniques that follow from them, and present 3 case studies from the Russian Arctic.