How should forest landowners estimate carbon growth and yield

from FIA data?

Paul Van DeusenNCASI

New OrleansMarch 3,2009

Le Pavillon Hotel

How much carbon is on my land and how much is it sequestering?

Input you should have How many acres/hectares you have? What species and age class? Ideally, your own inventory

What you really want to know How much will be sequestered next year?

Things you do have How many acres total (but not necessarily forested)

Options to be considered

1) Use COLE or GTR NE-343

2) Use raw FIA data

3) Use FIA data and remote sensing data

COLE or GTR NE-343

Is GTR NE-343 or a COLE report good enough NE-343 and COLE use similar methods

Are you willing to use tables of average carbon pools from a state or county.

If yes, then it's a walk in the (carbon) park...

Comparing COLE tables with FIA data

COLE tables show carbon pools by age class Age class may not be a good descriptor for mixed

species/age stands

How do growth estimates from COLE tables compare to FIA growth estimates?

Growth in COLE is inferred by comparing age classes

What components matter for estimating annual change?

Live tree Understory Down dead Forest floor

Live tree change is the most reliable. Maybe a small owner with no inventory should ignore the

other pools.

COLE: Definitions of table columns (In case there are questions)

Cubic Feet per acreProd. Class 165-224 120-164 85-119 50-84 20-49 All

GS growth 239.7 170.3 119.1 89.3 47.6 136.5sample size 153 350 516 389 19 1398

SE 8.07 6.81 4.41 4.53 12.86 3.09

Cubic Meters per Hectare15.7-11.5 8.4-11.5 5.9-8.4 3.5-5.9 1.4-3.5 All

GS growth 16.77 11.92 8.33 6.25 3.33 9.55SE 0.56 0.48 0.31 0.32 0.9 0.22

Carbon Tonnes per Hectare15.7-11.5 8.4-11.5 5.9-8.4 3.5-5.9 1.4-3.5 All

GS growth 4.19 2.98 2.08 1.56 0.83 2.39SE 0.14 0.12 0.08 0.08 0.22 0.05

Loblolly pine annual GS growth (Georgia, FIA data)

All owners

COLE Growth and Yield: Von Bertalanffy equation, Loblolly from Georgia.

Loblolly pine annual GS growth (Georgia, FIA data)

n cu ft/acre Carbon tonnes/ha< 5 years 100 69.9 1.22

10 331 81.8 1.4320 508 193.3 3.3830 192 166.6 2.9140 76 108.2 1.8950 92 98.5 1.7260 51 102.5 1.7970 21 27.6 0.4880 4 46.9 0.8290 1 46.7 0.82

All 1315 138.2 2.42

Private Land Only

Estimating carbon directly from FIA data

Example: Estimating Carbon Sequestered at Fort Benning, GA

Assume you have no inventory information You want to use FIA data Use your favorite tool for accessing FIA data

Mapmaker, FIDO, mine is GForest

Gforesthttp://ncasi.uml.edu

Gforesthttp://ncasi.uml.edu

Fort Benning

Fort Benning FIA Plots (3 counties)

Fort Benning FIA Pine Plots

Fort Benning Forest Acres (thousands)Total Base Covers 182,000 acres

Age Softwood Hardwood Unknown All< 5 years 9 11 20

10 9 3 1220 9 930 12 6 1840 12 1250 6 6 1260 5 1 670 12 3 1580 4 490 6 6

All 53 47 14 114

Based on Gforest and FIA data: Feb, 2009

Softwood has >50% BA in sftwd species

Fort Benning AG Carbon (tons)Softwood Hardwood Unknown All

< 5 years 30,381 0 30,38110 14,957 0 14,95720 89,485 89,48530 113,478 103,693 217,17140 207,611 207,61150 96,710 257,911 354,62160 67,675 6,477 74,15270 356,127 109,784 465,91180 149,934 149,93490 225,251 225,251

All 738,432 1,091,042 0 1,829,474

Based on Gforest and FIA data: Feb, 2009

Fort Benning Live Carbon Growth

Cubic Feet/acre/year Tonnes/ha/yrSoftwood Hardwood Unknown All All

< 5 years 33.7 12.6 22.3 1.5610 5.2 0 3.9 0.2720 70.7 70.7 4.9530 47.6 25.6 36.6 2.5640 29.3 29.3 2.0550 55.8 55.8 3.960 -19.4 -25.3 -20.1 -1.4170 1.3 0 1 0.0780 61.2 61.2 4.2890 -125.9 -125.9 -8.81

All 25.1 7.6 9.8 15.9 1.11All (tonnes) 1.76 0.53 0.69 1.11

Based on Gforest and FIA data: Feb, 2009

Fort Benning – Why are some growth numbers negative?

Finally, a comment about FIA data in combination with remotely sensed

data

Ft Benning PlotsAnd NLCD data

Combining FIA data with remotely sensed data seems promising.It needs to be made user friendly for land owners.

Summary

The best way to estimate carbon stocks and sequestration on your land is by maintaining a forest inventory

Inventories are too expensive for most owners

COLE and GTR NE-343 may be the easiest options

Working with FIA data via an on-line interface can work for larger owners who have no inventory

-Could also combine FIA data with a local inventory or remotely sensed data...