Tradition Lake

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Tradition Lake

• Carbon Sequestration and Biomass

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Introduction

• The objective of this exercise is to be able to
  accurately measure the approximate amount of
  carbon contained within a given area. This
  allows you to be able to determine the depth of
  carbon sequestration within a particular area.
• What is Carbon Sequestration?
• Why is this important?
• How does it apply?

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Carbon Sequestration

• Carbon sequestration is the total removed CO2
  from the atmosphere into long-lived pools of
  carbon. The pools can be living, aboveground
  biomass (e.g., trees), products with a long,
  useful life created from biomass (e.g., lumber),
  living biomass in soils (e.g., roots and
  microorganisms), or organic and inorganic carbon
  in soils and deeper subsurface environments.

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Significance

• Carbon sinks are useful tools in lowering the
  impact of global carbon dioxide emissions by
  drawing carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and
  breaking it down to carbon and oxygen through
  photosynthesis. The carbon is kept within the
  sink and the oxygen is released.

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Applications

• Carbon sinks provide the atmosphere with a slight
  buffer system against the harmful effects of our
  rising global carbon dioxide emissions.

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Materials

• Notebook
• 5 dbh tape
• 50 meter tape
• Flags
• Increment corer
• Digging tool

• 10 meter rope
• large nail
• Clinometers
• compass
• bags
• magic marker

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Methods

• Establish a plot (radius of 10m)
• Measure all the trees within plot touches
• Measure height and width
• Indicate if its dead or alive (D1, D2, D3)
• Identify species

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Methods (cont.)

• Measure 2 20m transects
• 90 degrees from one another
• Measure average height of shrubs and coverage (in
  )
• Record dead material above ground into decay
  classes
• Estimate shrub biomass
• collect 1mx1m square of high and low

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Methods (cont.)

• Measure depth of litter
• Note deepest and shallowest points
• Remove 1x1m square at these points
• To be weighed later

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Site Description

• Under story
• Prominent species
• Sword Fern
• Oregon Grape
• Salal
• Density mostly thick ground cover
• Conclusions about this site mostly wet site,
• Salal being found mostly near trails
• openings to the under story mostly man-made

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Site Description - plot
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Decay Classes

• D1 - bark is still hard
• D2 - stem wood is still hard
• D3 - finger could be stuck through wood

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Results Live Tree Biomass
Df Douglas-fir OC Other Conifers HW
Hardwoods
x 31.85 accounts for plots per hector
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Douglas Fir
15
Other Conifers
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Hardwoods
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Results Coarse Woody Debris

• These two tables show the results of
  calculations for the coarse woody debris. Table
  one shows sound wood (D1/D2 classes) and table
  two shows rotten wood (D3 class). Multiplying
  this by the number of meters (20x2 40) we come
  up with the biomass/ha of this part.

Total 193.75 x 40 m 7750
Total 781.25 x 40 m 31250
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Results Ground cover
Total 22904.9
Shrub cover
Forest floor
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Graph forest floor
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Graph cover
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Results Biomass totals
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Conclusion

• Why are carbon sequestration and sinks are
  important?
• Responsible for carbon dioxide reduction in
  atmosphere.
• Provides a buffer system for global climate
  change.
• The only useful tool in lowering carbon dioxide
  levels in the atmosphere aside from curbing
  emissions.