National accounting of forest carbon

1
National accounting of forest carbon

• Patrick Van Laake
• ITC

2
Carbon in the forest

• For REDD it is essential to make an accurate
  assessment of the amount of carbon in the forest
  at different points in time
• All eligible countries need to establish their
  own national accounting system for carbon in the
  forest
• While there are approved methodologies for carbon
  assessment, countries are free to use their own
  methodologies
• Typically they are locally derived variations on
  standard methodologies
• These are typically more accurate
• They need to be validated by the UNFCCC

3
Carbon pools

• Four pools of carbon can be distinguished
• Above-ground live biomass
• Below-ground live biomass
• Dead biomass, litter
• Soil organic matter
• For most purposes, the assessment of above-ground
  biomass will be sufficient
• Effectively, this assumes that all other pools
  have a constant carbon content
• Depending on the situation, it may be beneficial
  to include other carbon pools as well

4
Carbon pools and fluxes
Source EPA
5
Measuring carbon

• Carbon stored in the forest needs to be measured
  in order to get accurate estimates of reduction
  in emissions
• Change is small relative to the total biomass
• This implies that a small error in the
  measurements can have a large impact on the
  assessment of emission reductions
• Countries can use their existing forest inventory
  practices as long as they comply with the
  requirements of REDD
• Field inventory data
• Wood production data
• Silvicultural analysis
• However, the data may not be comprehensive enough
  to generate accurate local estimates
• Involvement of local communities in measurement
  of forest properties may be required

6
IPCC guidelines

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has
  developed extensive guidelines on the use of
  methods to determine forest biomass and carbon
  content
• Good Practice Guidance
• National Greenhouse Gas Inventory for
  Agriculture, Forestry and Land Use
• These methods are accepted by the UNFCCC as valid
  methods
• Some issues
• The methods are generic, they are not specific to
  the Mekong region and its dominant forest types
• The methods are primarily based on knowledge from
  production forestry and they may not be directly
  applicable to natural tropical forests

7
Tiers of carbon monitoring

• The IPCC distinguishes between three tiers of
  reporting carbon dynamics
• Tier 1
• When no local information is available, use can
  be made of globally available information
• The estimates are conservative, meaning that very
  low carbon credits will be generated
• Tier 2
• Local information on forest areas and types is
  available, but no or little information on
  floristic composition or biomass content, for
  which standard values will be used
• Again, estimates are conservative
• Relatively good assessment with little effort
• Changes may not be easily detected
• Tier 3
• Every forest needs to be described in detail,
  using locally collected data
• Expensive to implement, but it gives the highest
  carbon credits
• For REDD this may be the only sensible solution

8
The need for accuracy

• Since for REDD the interest is in changes in
  carbon content over time, accuracy is of the
  utmost importance
• Changes are small relative to total carbon

T0 170 10 t/ha T1 200 10 t/ha Significant
difference is 10 t/ha not 30 t/ha!
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Allometric equations

• In order to reduce the amount of data to be
  collected for an accurate assessment of biomass
  under Tier 3 reporting, use can be made of
  allometric equations
• Allometric equations give the relationship
  between above-ground biomass and some property of
  the tree
• ln(AGBtree) c1 c2 ln(DBH)
• Allometric equations can be extended from the
  tree to the forest if tree density values are
  known
• Allometric equations have been developed for a
  few commercially interesting tree species, as
  well as for tropical forests
• Better results are obtained with locally derived
  allometric equations, specific to forest type,
  ecological zone and management
• Deriving allometric equations is costly, but may
  have large benefits for generating carbon credits

10
Data to be collected

• The type of data to be collected depends on the
  methods that are applied for reporting
• For allometric equations, the typical data are
• Diameter at breast height
• Tree density
• Total tree height
• Wood density
• Free branch height
• Data can be collected in standard (permanent)
  sampling plots, or scattered throughout the
  forest
• In either case, a sampling approach has to be
  taken that is relevant for the conditions of the
  forest (ecological type, disturbance regime)
• Other data may be relevant as well
• Use of the forest resources by the local
  population
• Substitution of non-renewable resources by forest
  products
• Ownership, use rights, cultural and social
  importance

11
Involving local stakeholders

• Measuring biomass is expensive, but involvement
  of the local stakeholders can greatly reduce the
  cost to the government
• Community forest management groups have had
  success in accurately measuring some properties
  of the forest in various countries
• Involving local stakeholders is also a
  strategically important decision
• It is ethical to do, as these people often depend
  on the forest for their livelihood
• Involved local people protect the resource
• REDD is more than measuring biomass, attitudes
  towards the use of forest resources need to change

12
Sampling and representativity

• Measuring biomass is expensive so it is important
  to know where to sample, what to collect, and how
  much of it
• Standard statistical techniques can be applied to
  determine the number of samples in order to
  reduce the uncertainty to an acceptable level
• Stratification of the forest in homogeneous units
  based on ecological type, resource condition and
  management regime will help to reduce the number
  of samples
• Homogeneous units have low variance in the
  samples, meaning that fewer samples are required
  for a good assessment
• Stratification of the forest and its description
  in statistical terms are important elements of
  reporting to the UNFCCC
• It is necessary to validate a national Tier 3
  reporting method
• It is important source of information for
  independent validation of carbon emission
  reduction claims both at the national level and
  at the UNFCCC

13
Forest biogeography

• Biogeography is the study of how the biotic
  environment expresses itself given certain
  environmental conditions
• Forest biogeography is a relatively recent branch
  of science that applies these principles to
  forests, providing a tool for scientifically
  sound stratification of forests
• It can be extended with secondary data, such as
  disturbance level or management regime
• Forest biogeography is typically based on
  ecological properties and implemented in a GIS
  system
• Stratification of the forest on ecological and
  environmental properties needs to be done only
  very occasionally
• Changes in disturbance level or management regime
  may require a change in the stratification

14
Discussion topics

• How might a national accounting system be
  established?
• Government structures
• Central, provincial, district, village
• Reporting of REDD data, DNA
• Institutional requirements in the Forest
  Department
• Scientific support
• Allometric equations
• Forest biogeography, stratification
• Data analysis, reporting
• Involvement of local stakeholders