Scientists from the Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) have created a detailed carbon map at the carbon training ground in Ajax Bay in the Sea of Japan. This was reported on March 20 by TASS, citing the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. The Far Eastern Carbon Training Ground became the first among the 19 operating in Russia to use a combination of aerial and ground scanning — UAVs, lidars, and multispectral cameras. The resulting digital models will form the basis for long-term monitoring of the carbon balance of coastal marine ecosystems. The work was supported by the Ministry of Education and Science as part of the project "Assessment of the sequestration potential of coastal marine ecosystems."
How the Carbon Map Was Created in Ajax Bay in the Far East
Scientists conducted surveys in cold and warm seasons, identified tree species and their parameters. Ground and aerial laser scanning, classical and multispectral aerial photography from unmanned aerial systems were used to collect data. Based on the data from UAVs, the team created digital twins of the training ground areas — this allowed to increase the accuracy and efficiency of determining biomass and carbon stocks.
The study area is located on the territory of the FEFU campus on Russky Island in Peter the Great Bay. The area of the coastal terrace and marine area is more than 20 hectares.
Key Results of Carbon Mapping in Ajax Bay
The main carbon reserves are concentrated in the forest zone. Meadow vegetation, despite its vast area, accumulates much less of it. The created cartographic basis allowed to calculate preliminary reserves of aboveground biomass and carbon throughout the training ground.
Coastal marine ecosystems are one of the key natural carbon sinks. Their accurate monitoring is critical for verifying carbon units under climate agreements. Before the FEFU methodology, accurate mapping of such ecosystems required either expensive ground measurements or gave low resolution with remote sensing. The combination of lidars and multispectral UAVs solves this problem and opens up the possibility of scaling to all 19 carbon training grounds in Russia.