CRC for Greenhouse Accounting

Research Programs

Project A2:
Carbon stored in woody vegetation

Project Leader: Dr Kelvin Montagu, SF NSW

• Techniques & sampling strategies for estimating root biomass
• Tree biomass partitioning: variation
• Decay of harvest residues remaining on site
• Remote sensing of forest & woodland biomass

Program Objectives

The principal objective is to develop techniques to give greater certainty to estimates of carbon stored in woody vegetation, for both project scale and national scale carbon accounting. This is to be achieved through:

• Improving techniques for quantifying carbon pools and fluxes in woody biomass occurring below- and above-ground in a range of Australian ecosystems.

• Accounting for spatial variation in the carbon stored in the root systems of woody vegetation by developing "rules" to account for factors (age, environment, species, management) which alter the root:shoot ratio.

• To provide input into and develop partnerships with soil carbon, modelling and remote sensing groups to continually improve spatial and temporal estimates of terrestrial carbon stocks and fluxes.

Research Relevance

Carbon stored in woody vegetation (forests and woodlands) is subjected to human-induced changes, both directly, through land use change and management, or indirectly through climate change.

A capacity to measure and predict carbon pools and fluxes in woody vegetation is important to our ability to understand and manage the carbon cycle. We need to develop and refine methods for measurement and prediction of carbon pools and fluxes in woody vegetation so that:

• the impact of changes in land usage, management or climate on terrestrial carbon pools and fluxes can be assessed.
• Cost effective estimates of carbon sequestration rates in reforestation/revegetation can be made to underpin potential trading of carbon credits.

Up to half the carbon sequestered in woody biomass can be stored belowground in roots. Measuring belowground biomass is, however both time consuming and laborious. The absence of suitable sampling methods for roots of woody vegetation has hampered our understanding of the factors that determine belowground allocation. This limits the ability to estimate carbon stored in woody biomass.

Outputs

• Improved estimates of tree root biomass through improved sampling methodologies and strategies.
• Improved estimates of above-ground biomass through improved sampling methodologies and strategies.
• Better spatial estimates of below-ground biomass through an enhanced understanding of factors controlling root:shoot ratios.
• Reliable estimates of decay rates of harvest residues (roots and above-ground debris).
• An initial assessment of the potential of a number of remote sensing platforms to estimate above-ground biomass.
• Provide a series of ground data for major woody ecosystems for model validation and ground-truthing of remote sensing.

Outcomes

The principal outcome will be greater certainty in estimates of carbon stored in woody vegetation for both project scale and national scale carbon accounting.

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A2.1 Techniques & sampling strategies for estimating root biomass

The objectives of this sub-project are to:

• Compare alternative root sampling strategies and determine the optimum techniques and sampling design.
• Investigate new techniques for measuring the biomass of root system (Ground Probing Radar).

Detailed root sampling, to characterise horizontal and vertical root distributions, is being undertaken to develop optimum sampling strategy(s) which can be applied in future root sampling in WA, NSW and Qld studies. Data from these intensive studies will allow simulation and comparison of alternative sampling strategies.

Ground Probing Radar (GPR) has the potential to provide a new tool for the non-destructive sampling of coarse root biomass. However, there is considerable development work required before GPR can be used for estimating root biomass. Controlled studies are required to examine issues such as resolution, hardware configuration and data processing.

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A2.2: Tree biomass partitioning: environmental, species & management variation

The objectives of this sub-project are to:

• Develop "rules" to account for factors (age, environment, species, management) which alter the carbon stored in the root systems of woody vegetation.

• Continue improvement of techniques for estimating above-ground biomass.

A series of studies are proposed in woodlands, native forests and plantations. Initial work will focus on experimental sites where resources have been manipulated (e.g. nutrition, water, spacing, species). Understanding from such studies would then be incorporated into spatial stand models.

The experimental phase will then change to testing the predictive power of such models across landscapes.

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