Remote Sensing based estimation of potential terrestrial carbon stocks in West Africa

Climate change, initiated by increasing greenhouse gas emissions leads to serious ecological and economic problems especially in developing countries. The potential carbon sinks are analyzed by a combination of different remote sensing based products for three countries (Ghana, Togo, Burkina Faso). In order to derive these information, the following analysis need to be done: Firstly, the net primary productivity was estimated on a regional scale based on MODIS 250 m time series. Secondly, the actual land cover was classified with medium spatial resolution based on multi scale analysis with in situ, Landsat and MODIS data. Thirdly, the potential vegetation was modeled with abiotic factors, whereas land cover of protected areas was used as training data. Based on a combination of these datasets a balance of potential carbon sinks could be estimated over a time period of 100 years. Due to decreasing soil fertility, the potential of emission trading could be an alternative source of income in parts of