Abstract
Following Kyoto protocol considerable research efforts have been made on carbon sequestration assessment of forest stands. The aim of the present study was to test the adequacy of two documented methodologies to obtain stand level dry biomass and carbon estimates, considering its application at regional scale, for pure and mixed stands. The procedures refer to: 1) the estimation of dry biomass through the use of tree biomass models and 2) the use of biomass conversion and expansion factors (BCEF) to convert stem volume raw data into aboveground dry biomass. Using the dry biomass values, carbon stock is easily estimated using conversion factors, being 0.50 a generally accepted value. Case study reports to a pilot zone with pure and mixed stands of Eucalyptus globulus Labill and Pinus pinaster Ait. in Portugal. Procedure 1) gives the most reliable results when the database includes detailed information at tree level, both for pure or mixed stands. When individual tree data is not accessible, option 2) is an interesting option to consider for pure stands. The use of BCEF-based procedure in mixed stands is not advocated at least when considering the direct use of a single conversion factor, as the value of the factor strongly depends on the forest composition.
Highlights
The assessment of carbon in the forest areas is a timely subject because carbon stock is an important criterion of Sustainable Forest Management and at the same time it is required for greenhouse gas inventories needed in the LULUCF sector (Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry) for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reporting.Two major methodologies have been proposed and accepted for use to assess the carbon stock of the tree component using ground level inventory data
The analysis of the biomass and carbon stock evaluation methods shows that the compilation method based on individual tree biomass evaluation is generally applicable, allowing its use in pure and mixed stands
The method that uses volume data and BCEF values proved to be inadequate for a widespread use, at least as stated in both variants approved for evaluation in the FORSEE project
Summary
The assessment of carbon in the forest areas is a timely subject because carbon stock is an important criterion of Sustainable Forest Management and at the same time it is required for greenhouse gas inventories needed in the LULUCF sector (Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry) for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reporting.Two major methodologies have been proposed and accepted for use to assess the carbon stock of the tree component using ground level inventory data. One is based on tree biomass and carbon concentration in the biomass (g of carbon per g of biomass). Under this approach, tree dry biomass is estimated from tree characteristics using allometric equations that relate tree biomass with tree size (usually, diameter or diameter and height). For general forest inventory purposes this approach seems to be the most reliable provided that there are biomass models available for the inventoried species. This seems not to be of great concern as there is a wealth of literature about the subject for both whole tree biomass and the biomass of different components. A compilation for North-American and for Canadian tree species can be found in Ter-Mikaelian and Korzukhin (1997) and Lambert et al (2005), respectively
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
