Revision to VT0005: Tool for Measuring Aboveground Live Forest Biomass using Remote Sensing, v1.0

VT0005 v1.0 is a tool for determining aboveground live forest biomass (ALFB) through a combination of remote sensing data and field measurements to provide an accurate and cost-effective estimation of ALFB across varied land use and land cover (LULC) classification types and broad spatial extents. This tool uses remote sensing and data from field plots to estimate ALFB. It is intended for use with approved VCS AFOLU methodologies and projects where an estimation of ALFB is required.

The proposed revision enables the use of advances in modeling and algorithms and regional proxy biomass datasets to reduce sampling costs and increase the accuracy of ALFB estimation with VT0005.

• On March 9, 2026 the development of this tool was rejected per the VCS Methodology Development and Review Process (PDF). There is a critical need for the use of remote sensing to estimate forest biomass, and VT0005 was an early approach to doing so. However, there have been numerous advances made since the development of VT0005, and there are now many existing and developing approaches for remote sensing of biomass. In place of revising VT0005, which is a somewhat prescriptive approach, Verra will explore replacing VT0005 with guidance that allows for the application of other approaches to remote sensing of biomass.