Forest inventories for carbon change assessments

• Published in: Current opinion in environmental sustainability Vol. 4; no. 6; pp. 686 - 695
• Main Authors: Mohren, GMJ, Hasenauer, H, Köhl, M, Nabuurs, G-J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01-12-2012
• Subjects: climate-change; dioxide; ecosystems; european forests; harmonization; management; mitigation; root biomass; sequestration; tropical forests
• ISSN: 1877-3435; 1877-3443
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cosust.2012.10.002

► Forest inventories data can be used to quantify forest ecosystem carbon budgets. ► Carbon in forest soils requires additional sampling because of soil heterogeneity. ► Carbon in forest products should be accounted for when analysis carbon dynamics in forest ecosystems, taking into account product life span and substitution effects. ► Remote sensing techniques combined with ground based sampling provide a means for upscaling over larger regions. ► Effects of climate change may lead to increased disturbance and decrease of carbon storage in forest ecosystems.
We give a general overview of forest inventory developments and their potential to estimate forest carbon budgets and GHG emissions. Forest inventories mostly focus on timber resources, but can be extended to cover other forest characteristics, such as forest biomass. From forest biomass, ecosystem carbon content can be derived. Forest inventory comprises of ground-based and space-based techniques, and the combination of the two provides a versatile scheme for carbon storage assessment. Large uncertainties remain in the estimation of soil carbon, as well as in the attribution and assessment of mitigation associated with the use of forest products, for example in substituting for high-energy building materials. Together, significant uncertainty remains in assessing and reporting of carbon storage and greenhouse mitigation with respect to forest-related land use and land use change.