New satellite missions and sensors for forest monitoring

Abstract

Forests are vital for nature balance and act as sink for carbon emissions; therefore, regular monitoring of forest is crucial for uninterrupted ecosystem services and functioning. For the large-scale monitoring of forests, several advancements happened in the last few decades in the field of satellite designing and sensor development. This chapter will provide a review of older satellites as well as new satellites and sensors for monitoring and management of forests. The satellite that are used in the past and present for forest monitoring in the field of multispectral, hyperspectral, LiDAR, microwave (active and passive) are provided with their background. © 2026 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved..