NEWS
On July 5th, 2024, the 1st International Interdisciplinary Forum on Forest Carbon Sink Estimations by Remote Sensing was held at China Agricultural University, Beijing, China. More than 100 scientists, scholars, educators and entrepreneurs from various countries including Denmark, Republic of Korea, Liberia, Nigeria, Iran, Pakistan, and the USA participated in this specialized and inspiring conference both virtually (>1, 000) and physically.
Group Photo
The Forum, organized by the International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE) and guided by the Beijing Association for Science and Technology (BAST), was hosted by the College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, the Sustainability Research Institute (Jinan) of Peking University, and the Agricultural and Rural Geographic Information Committee of China Association for Geospatial Industry and Science (CAGIS), with the theme of “International Interdisciplinary Forum on Precision Measurement of Forest Carbon Sinks with Remote Sensing”.
The opening ceremony was moderated by Prof. Yelu Zeng, Deputy Director of the International Office, China Agricultural University, who greeted the audience with a welcome speech. Prof. Changlin Wang, Secretary General of ISDE, delivered opening remarks and enlightened the delegates with an exciting lineup of the upcoming ISDE events.
Welcome Speech by Prof. Yelu Zeng
Opening Remarks by Prof. Changlin Wang
The Form featured three specially invited speeches, namely the “Continental Scale Individual Tree Carbon Stock Mapping” given online by Prof. Martin Brandt, Department of Geography, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, the “Restoring Market Confidence in Nature-based Carbon Solutions via AI and Remote Sensing” by Researcher Alvin Tian, Kennedy School, Harvard University, USA, and the “Upscaling Land Surface Fluxes through Hyper-resolution Remote Sensing in Space Time and Spectrum” given online by Prof. Youngryel Ryu, Vice Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Korea.
Presentation by Researcher Alvin Tian
The event engaged the audience with 15 oral presentations covering topics such as forestry carbon sink verification, forest parameter retrieval, and carbon storage assessment. A highlight of the conference was the round table titled “Opportunities and Challenges in the Natural Carbon Sink Market”, where global experts shared knowledge and practical experiences aimed at achieving carbon neutrality and sustainable development. Representatives from technology giants and corporations such as Tencent, ACT China, TNC China, and Boya Intelligence engaged in productive discussions, laying the groundwork for potential future collaborations.
Round Table
The event was deemed as a wonderful exchange of expertise in forestry (diameter at breast height, carbon storage), ecology (carbon flux, photosynthesis models) and remote sensing (tree height, crown diameter), as well as a gathering for the like-minded in the industry, setting the stage for cross-disciplinary partnerships at upcoming ISDE events.
