Multi-Source Remote Sensing and GIS for Forest Carbon Monitoring Toward Carbon Neutrality

Forests play a pivotal role in the global carbon cycle, making accurate estimation of forest carbon stocks essential for climate change mitigation efforts. However, the diverse methods available for assessing forest carbon yield varying results and have different limitations. This study provides a comprehensive review of current methods for estimating forest carbon stocks, including field-based measurements, remote sensing techniques, and integrated approaches. We systematically collected and analyzed recent studies (2010–2025) on forest carbon estimation across various ecosystems. Our review indicates that field-based methods, such as forest inventories and allometric equations, offer high accuracy at local scales but are labor-intensive. Remote sensing methods (e.g., LiDAR and satellite imagery) enable large-scale carbon assessment with moderate accuracy and efficiency. Integrated approaches that combine ground measurements with remote sensing data can improve accuracy while expanding spatial coverage. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each method category in terms of accuracy, cost, and scalability. Based on the synthesis of findings, we recommend a balanced approach that leverages both ground and remote sensing techniques for reliable forest carbon monitoring. This review also identifies knowledge gaps and suggests directions for future research to enhance the precision and applicability of forest carbon estimation methods.