Harmonizing Repeated Multi-Platform Optical and LiDAR Observations for Continental-Scale Terrestrial Carbon Cycle Data Assimilation.

Assimilating GEDI LiDAR alongside optical AGB and LAI in a North America continental DA system reduced uncertainty in woody biomass by 63.7% versus unconstrained simulations.

• Why it matters: Terrestrial carbon monitoring needs lower uncertainty, but optical and LiDAR products have different spatial/temporal limits and LiDAR has not been integrated into DA frameworks.
• What they did: The study integrated GEDI LiDAR into an existing DA system assimilating optical AGB and LAI, microwave soil moisture, and ground-based SOC across the entire North American continent.
• The result: Joint optical–LiDAR assimilation cut woody biomass uncertainty by 63.7% (and 18% versus the prior DA system), reduced RMSE by 38.3 kg/m2 across five AGB products, and reduced biases in high-AGB saturation regions.

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