LUCF GHG emission inventory in France

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LUCF GHG emission inventory in France
Thierry Bélouard, National Forest
Inventory Gérôme Pignard, Agricultural public
service Michel-Paul Morel, Ministry of
agriculture, statistical service Guillaume
Gaborit, CITEPA JRC, 22-23 September 2005
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Land observation and forest inventoryin mainland
France - Plan

• General issues
• Definitions
• Main figures
• Localisation of the results
• Forest observation networks
• Land use and cover area survey
• National Forest Inventory
• European systems health forest network, forest
  ecosystems observation, forest fire observation
  and reporting
• Carbon stock and change in forest
• Aboveground biomass
• Below ground biomass
• Deadwood
• Litter
• Soil organic carbon
• Overseas territories issues

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General issues 1 definitions

• Forest definition
• Crown cover 10
• Minimal height of the trees 5 m
• Minimal area 0.5 ha
• international definition GFRA report (FAO)
• Managed forest and forest management
• UNFCCC reporting
• Managed forest
• Forest used for forestry (productive forest) 95
  of the French forests
• Protection and recreation uses excluded

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General issues 2 main forest figures

• Mainland forest
• 15.4 Mha (private forests 74)
• Increase of forest area
• Since the middle of the XIX century
• 1992-2002 80 000 ha/year. Mainly natural
  afforestation after abandoned agriculture
• Increase of stem volume
• Annual growth 81,7 Mm3/year ( 1/year)
• Harvest 51,4 Mm3/year (stable)
• Annual storage 30 Mm3/year

• Overseas forest
• 7.7 Mha
• Mainly tropical forest, some mangroves
• Mainly public forest
• Few data
• French Guiana 7.5 Mha

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General issues 2 localisation of the results

• IPCC method 1 areas encompassing ARD lands
• Administrative region (NUTS 2) 22 for
  metropolitan France 4 overseas regions (French
  Guiana and 3 tropical islands Guadeloupe,
  Martinique, Réunion)

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Land use and cover area survey

• Statistical service of the ministry of
  agriculture
• Sampling method and periodicity
• Annual and systematic point sampling
• National sample, permanent since 1982
• Accuracy on evolution
• But 2 changes of sample 1991-92 and 2005 (LUCAS)
• ? Difficulties to trace the evolution of units of
  lands since 1990
• Double sampling
  clusters of points

Clusters national sample European (Lucas)
sample sub-sample (mesh 18 x 18 km)
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Land use and cover area survey (cont.)

• Systematic double sampling (cont.) cluster of
  points
• PSU primary sampling unit (cluster)
• SSU secondary sampling unit (point)
• Observations on the plot
• Land (physical) cover forest, poplar stand,
  hedge, line trees, trees outside forest, orchard,
  heathland
• Land use (functions) agriculture, forestry,
  protection, recreation...
• Territory
• Mainland and overseas regions
• French Guiana coastal zone only

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French National Forest Inventory

• Sampling scheme and periodicity
• From 1961 to 2004
• Multiphase stratified sampling
• each département NUTS 3 updated every 12 years
  (95 units)
• France100,000 field plots in forest observed
  during 12 years
• Since 2005
• Systematic et annual inventory
• Update national figures every year
• 7,000 field plots in forest observed each year
• Inventory
• Land cover concerned forest, heathland, poplar
  stand, trees outside forest (hedges, line trees,
  isolated trees)
• Territory inventoried mainland and Corsica,
  overseas territories excluded

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French National Forest Inventory (cont.)

• Available data
• Forest map interpretation of aerial photographs
  with field controls
• Photo-interpretation and field observations of
  inventoried stands
• Field survey trees measurement if DBH gt 7.5 cm
  (stem volume, increment), ecological observations
  (flora,
  sol, humus)

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European observation system of the French forest

• Forest health monitoring network
• Systematic and permanent sample
• 540 plots with 20 trees
• Observation defoliation, diseases caused by
  biotic and abiotic agents

• Forest ecosystem network
• 102 stands all over mainland France
• Scientific purposes ecophysiology, nutriments
  cycle (C, N)
• Expensive equipment meteorology, chemical
  analyses
• Public forests only

• Forest fire observation and reporting system
• Regional and administrative survey
• Ministry of interior (fire service) and ministry
  of agriculture

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Carbon stock and change in forest 1 aboveground
biomass

• NFI volume stem volume until 7.5 cm of diameter
• Aboveground volume
• Biomass expansion factor (BEF)
• Broadleaf 1.611 coniferous 1.335
• Volume functions for the main tree species
• V f(species, diameter, height)
• Aboveground carbon stock/increment
• Wood density depends
  on the group of
  species
• Poplar 0.35
• Broadleaf sp. 0.55
• Conifers 0.44
• Carbon conversion
  factor 0.475

• Harvest
• Commercial felling survey
• Fuel wood energetic statistics on wood
  consumption.
• Supplementary data used for ARD activities
• Deforestation average volume for deforested
  areas (NFI estimate)
• Afforestation Annual increment for land
  becoming forest as a whole (no class age).

• Flux method vs. Stock
• ? Flux can be imprecise due to the
  uncertainty on fuel wood consumption mainly. On
  the
• other hand NFI inventory is wholly carried out
  every 12 years ? can not provide annual data.
• ? Annualisation of the NFI inventory
  in 2005 ? Stock approach could be use as a
  reference.

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Carbon stock and change in forest 2below ground
biomass
Living biomass/ aboveground biomass rates

• Below ground biomass
• Root expansion factors
• Depends on the group of species and the age

Carbon stock change in the French forest 1984-96
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Carbon stock and change in forest 3 deadwood,
litter

• Deadwood
• NFI measurement of the standing died trees in
  the last 5 years (mortality flux)
• Current trend increase
• Litter
• Data available for LUC 9 tC/ha for forest, 0
  for other Land use

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Carbon stock and change in forest 4soil organic
carbon

• Land transition (ARD) simple model for changes
  over time
• Default methodology with the 20 years timespan.
  Use of improved value for mean SOC content
  according to Land Use as regard IPCC default.
• Forest remaining forest
• Only one estimate
• Based on the forest health network

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Overseas Territories Issues

• French Guiana
• 7.5 Million hectares of tropical forest (95
  total surface)
• Around 1 Million hectare of managed forest
• Little information on LUC (deforestation) gt Use
  of satellite imagery within the program GSE /
  Forest Monitoring. Resolution not better than 3-5
  ha which could be enhanced by photointerpretation
  to 0.5ha (phase 2 of the program start end of
  2005)

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Overseas Territories Issues French Guiana

• Particular Management
• Modern agriculture, permanent abattis and
  Petit-Saut reservoir
• Permanent agriculture clearly deforestation
• Traditional shifting cultivation
• Temporary agriculture during 2 or 3 years, and
  then abandonment and forest recolonisation
  (ultimately secondary forest).
• Kind of sustainable agro-forestry, with a long
  fallow period (about 100 years) ? deforestation ?
• Gold mining
• Forest felled, soil destroyed
• Then land is abandoned, and vegetation returns
• Scarce information on biomass characterization
  increment, stock, exploitation losses, etc.

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• Reporting period
• UNFCCC inventories for years 2008 to 2012 (5
  inventories)
• European Commission Decision 2005/166/EC
• Article 3
• Reporting under Article 3(1)(d) of Decision No
• 280/2004/EC
• Member States shall, in accordance with Article
  3(3) of the Kyoto Protocol and the relevant
  decisions adopted thereunder, for the purpose of
  Article 3(1)(d) of Decision No 280/2004/EC report
  their anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions by
  sources and removals by sinks from land-use
  change and forestry activities under Article 3(3)
  of the Kyoto Protocol for the years between 1990
  and the year before last.
• Member States that elect forest management,
  cropland management, grazing land management or
  revegetation under Article 3(4) of the Kyoto
  Protocol shall in addition report anthropogenic
  greenhouse gas emissions by sources and removals
  by sinks for each elected activity for the years
  between 1990 and the year before last.
• ?22 inventories ??