At 9:15 a.m. on April 29, 2025, the satellite Biomass ESA has opened its eyes to the Earth's forests. At the same time, Hamdi Zurqani ofUniversity of Arkansas published a study that promises to change forest monitoring forever. Its method combines NASA space lasers with European artificial intelligence to count every tree on the planet in real time.
You read that right: no more expensive expeditions into the jungle with machetes and GPS. Now just point three lasers from the International Space Station and let the algorithms do the rest. A very important breakthrough that can save the forests before it's too late.
“Laser” Monitoring of Forest Biomass: When Archaeologists Meet the Climate
The story began in an unexpected way (which Futuro Prossimo has told you anyway, as you will understand). The lasers that today measure forest biomass were born for another purpose: to find Mayan temples buried under meters of vegetation. Archaeologists used the GEDI LiDAR to penetrate the canopies and reveal hidden ruins. Zurqani had a brilliant insight: if these instruments can “see” through the forest, they can also measure it.
The system GEDI (Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation) It consists of three lasers mounted on the International Space Station. Every 27 days, these space eyes complete a full lap of the planet, “shooting” pulses of light toward the forests. The light bounces off tree trunks, branches, and leaves, returning valuable information about the height, density, and vertical structure of the vegetation. And it makes a complete and detailed scan.
The revolution of forest algorithms
Raw data, of course, isn’t enough. Something is needed to turn it into usable maps. Zurqani tested four machine learning algorithms to find the best one: gradient tree boosting, random forest, CART, and support vector machine. The winner? Gradient tree boosting, which achieved the highest precision with the lowest error margins.
Zurqani's Multi-Source Approach combines 3D measurements from GEDI with optical images from the European Space Agency's Sentinel satellites. A perfect marriage between American and European technology that produces results that would be impossible to achieve separately.
The new space eye on forests
As mentioned, while Zurqani was perfecting his algorithms, Europe was launching Biomass, the first satellite dedicated exclusively to forest monitoring. With its 12-meter antenna and P-band radar, Biomass can penetrate up to 30 meters of vegetation, mapping forest biomass with unprecedented precision.
P-band technology has never been tested in space before. The 70-centimeter radio waves pass through leaves without a problem, interacting only with the largest woody components: trunks and main branches. It's like having an X-ray of the forest, capable of distinguishing young trees from centuries-old patriarchs.
The Numbers That Change Everything
The precision achieved is impressive. As we have already reported on these pages, the forests contain about 80% of the Earth's carbon, but measuring them with traditional methods takes years and costs billions. Zurqani's system produces updated maps every month, with costs reduced by 90% compared to terrestrial surveys.
Google Earth Engine, then processes the data in real time, turning terabytes of satellite information into maps usable by governments and environmental organizations. A single satellite pass can map areas the size of Italy in just a few minutes.
Biomass Monitoring, the Future of Forests is Under Control
The research, published on Ecological Informatics, is much more than a technological advancement. It is a political tool. With accurate and up-to-date data, governments can finally quantify the impact of deforestation and the effectiveness of reforestation policies.
“One thing is certain,” he concludes. Zurqani. “As climate change intensifies, technologies like this will become indispensable to protecting our forests and the planet.”
The circle closes perfectly, as I like it: from the search for lost civilizations to the rescue of future ones. The archaeologists of the future will perhaps thank those who, in 2025, taught satellites to count trees.
