Guidelines for documenting and reporting tree allometric equations

Given the pressing need to quantify carbon fluxes associated with terrestrial vegetation dynamics, an increasing number of researchers have sought to improve estimates of tree volume, biomass, and carbon stocks. Tree allometric equations are critical tools for such purpose and have the potential to improve our understanding about carbon sequestration in woody vegetation, to support the implementation of policies and mechanisms designed to mitigate climate change (e.g. CDM and REDD+; Agrawal et al. 2011), to calculate costs and benefits associated with forest carbon projects, and to improve bioenergy systems and sustainable forest management (Henry et al. 2013)

Guidelines for documenting and reporting tree allometric equations

Given the pressing need to quantify carbon fluxes associated with terrestrial vegetation dynamics, an increasing number of researchers have sought to improve estimates of tree volume, biomass, and carbon stocks. Tree allometric equations are critical tools for such purpose and have the potential to improve our understanding about carbon sequestration in woody vegetation, to support the implementation of policies and mechanisms designed to mitigate climate change (e.g. CDM and REDD+; Agrawal et al. 2011), to calculate costs and benefits associated with forest carbon projects, and to improve bioenergy systems and sustainable forest management (Henry et al. 2013)

Guidelines for documenting and reporting tree allometric equations

Given the pressing need to quantify carbon fluxes associated with terrestrial vegetation dynamics, an increasing number of researchers have sought to improve estimates of tree volume, biomass, and carbon stocks. Tree allometric equations are critical tools for such purpose and have the potential to improve our understanding about carbon sequestration in woody vegetation, to support the implementation of policies and mechanisms designed to mitigate climate change (e.g. CDM and REDD+; Agrawal et al. 2011), to calculate costs and benefits associated with forest carbon projects, and to improve bioenergy systems and sustainable forest management (Henry et al. 2013)

Overcoming obstacles to sharing data on tree allometric equations

Advances in ecology face the complexity of ecosystems with dynamics longer than a single scientist’s career. In forestry and REDD+ practice, in particular, our ability to understand forest ecosystem dynamics and to manage them for mitigation and adaptation strongly relies on the combination of long-term research efforts and on data sharing. However, data collected by many measurement campaigns are regularly lost because of a lack of capacity to archive and maintain such information. Much progress would be achieved by encouraging researchers to provide access to primary data or publish “data-papers” (Chavan and Penev 2011; Cifuentes Jara et al. 2013; Fady et al. 2014)

An overview of existing and promising technologies for national forest monitoring

The main goal of national forest programs is to lead and steer forest policy development and implementation processes in an inter-sectoral way (FAO 2006). National forest monitoring systems contribute to forest programs through monitoring forest changes and forest services over time (FAO 2013). To do so, they generally collect and analyze forest-related data and provide knowledge and recommendations at regular intervals. The collection of forest-related data and their analyses have continually evolved with technological and computational advances (Kleinn 2002). For instance, ground measurements, such as diameter or height measurements, which were typically measured with measuring tape or forest compasses and relascopes, are now enhanced with new technologies, such as laser range finders. Furthermore, remote sensing is being increasingly used to improve ground sampling strategies (Maniatis and Mollicone 2010), to calculate forested land area and area changes (INPE 2006; INPE 2008; Hansen et al. 2013), and to detect many variables of interest such as forest fires, pest outbreaks, or trees outside forests (Barducci et al. 2002). The use of remotely sensed data together with ground-based observations has gained a lot of attention for estimating greenhouse gas emissions and removals associated with forests, particularly in the context of REDD+ (GOFC-GOLD 2010; GFOI 2014). During the last decades, the amount of information collected during forest inventories has thus grown rapidly and has, in turn, improved our ability to survey and manage many services such as biodiversity, carbon sequestration, or recreation. However, national forest monitoring approaches remain very heterogeneous from one country to another, and many national systems have still not taken the full advantage of newly operational technologies, despite an increasing availability of free, or at least less costly, data. This is probably because the use of these technologies to assess forest structural properties is, for the most part, used by only a few specialists and is largely confined to the research sector. The objective of this paper is to raise awareness by presenting, in a comprehensible way, some existing and promising technologies for supporting national forest monitoring

Guidelines for documenting and reporting tree allometric equations

International audienceGiven the pressing need to quantify carbon fluxes associated with terrestrial vegetation dynamics, an increasing number of researchers have sought to improve estimates of tree volume, biomass, and carbon stocks. Tree allometric equations are critical tools for such purpose and have the potential to improve our understanding about carbon sequestration in woody vegetation, to support the implementation of policies and mechanisms designed to mitigate climate change (e.g. CDM and REDD+; Agrawal et al. 2011), to calculate costs and benefits associated with forest carbon projects, and to improve bioenergy systems and sustainable forest management

An overview of existing and promising technologies for national forest monitoring

International audienceNo abstract availabl

Recommendations for the use of tree models to estimate national forest biomass and assess their uncertainty

International audienceAbstractKey messageThree options are proposed to improve the accuracy of national forest biomass estimates and decrease the uncertainty related to tree model selection depending on available data and national contexts.IntroductionDifferent tree volume and biomass equations result in different estimates. At national scale, differences of estimates can be important while they constitute the basis to guide policies and measures, particularly in the context of climate change mitigation.MethodFew countries have developed national tree volume and biomass equation databases and have explored its potential to decrease uncertainty of volume and biomasttags estimates. With the launch of the GlobAllomeTree webplatform, most countries in the world could have access to country-specific databases. The aim of this article is to recommend approaches for assessing tree and forest volume and biomass at national level with the lowest uncertainty. The article highlights the crucial need to link allometric equation development with national forest inventory planning efforts.ResultsModels must represent the tree population considered. Data availability; technical, financial, and human capacities; and biophysical context, among other factors, will influence the calculation process.ConclusionThree options are proposed to improve accuracy of national forest assessment depending on identified contexts. Further improvements could be obtained through improved forest stratification and additional non-destructive field campaigns