GEDI spaceborne lidar for protected areas monitoring

Abstract

Protected areas (PAs) are the cornerstone of global terrestrial biodiversity conservation, yet systematic, scalable assessment of their vegetation structural condition remains limited. NASA's Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI), a spaceborne full-waveform lidar mission, offers a unique opportunity to consistently quantify vegetation structure within PA boundaries at near-global scales. This review synthesises 45 peer-reviewed studies published between January 2018 and May 2026 that use GEDI to study PAs within 26 countries on five continents. Estimates of canopy height, canopy cover, and vertical structure from GEDI’s L2A and L2B products were most widely used. Aboveground biomass density was also frequently derived, often through L4A or multi-sensor modelling. Studies of vegetation structure, carbon storage, methodological integration and multi-sensor fusion dominate the evidence base, while analyses of disturbance, biodiversity proxies, and PA effectiveness remain more limited, with only 16 studies addressing these topics. Most studies combine GEDI with optical imagery, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), airborne lidar and spaceborne lidar, field plots, or terrestrial laser scanning to support spatial mapping and validation. GEDI-derived structural metrics can support monitoring under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the Paris Agreement, and IPBES Essential Biodiversity Variable reporting. However, this review shows that their operational use still requires stronger biodiversity linkages, clearer validation protocols, and better testing across ecosystems. Future research could further strengthen PA monitoring by integrating GEDI with new SAR and forthcoming lidar missions, and analyses using geospatial foundation models.