Boreal tree canopy cover change assessed with multi-source 3D optical remote sensing data

Boreal forests have a high sensitivity to climate and are expected to respond to warming. Our broad scale understanding ecosystem level structural responses to climate change require evaluation. Typically, remote sensing studies are constrained with observations from one mission, and/or a combination of field, airborne and spaceborne observations to inform current dynamics that have consequences to ecosystem carbon storage. Currently, multiple sources of vegetation structure information exist, exacerbating the complexity of scaling spatial and temporal information. We produced a calibrated and validated Landsat tree canopy cover dataset from 1985 to 2020 and evaluated forest cover change locations with Goddards LiDAR Hyperspectral and Thermal (G-LiHT), Land, Vegetation, and Ice Sensor (LVIS), Maxar WorldView stereo data, Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) -1, and -2. We will present recent findings and limitations of these data resources from select locations in North America and discuss future needs to improve boreal forest structure assessments.