CRC for Greenhouse Accounting

Research Programs

Our research program is designed to assist Australian industry and agriculture in the areas of land use and land management through techniques to enhance carbon sequestration over the long term.

Research Program A Measurement & spatial estimation of carbon pools and their turnover	Research Program B Projecting changes in the Carbon Cycle	Research Program C Systems Development & Support	Research Program D Science applications & outreach
Project A1 Below-ground carbon dynamics	Project B1 Interaction of elevated CO₂ and H₂0, temperature, nutrient and soil stresses on carbon sequestration	Project C.1 Model co-ordination	Project D.1 Good Practice
Project A2 Carbon stored in woody vegetation	Project B.2 Uncertainty and variability in the national carbon cycle	Sub-project C.1.1 Model integration	Project D2 Carbon scenario analysis for land management change
Sub-project A2.2 Tree biomass partitioning – environmental, species and management variation	Project B.3 Ecosystem vulnerability to change	Sub-project C.1.2 Data support	Project D3. Issues in carbon accounting
Sub-project A2.3 Decay of post-harvest onsite residues	Project B.4 Patterns of land use and land cover change	Sub-project C.1.3 Public access and application tools
Sub-project A2.4 Remote sensing of forest and woodland biomass	Project B 5: Projecting change in the carbon and nitrogen cycle	Sub-project C.2 Process modelling & testing
A3 Wood Life cycle analysis	Sub-project B5.1 Development of a decision support tool	Sub-project C.2.1 Improving process-based models
Sub-project A3.1 Production and service life of forest products.	Sub-Project B5.2 Methane	Sub-project C.2.2 Model inter-comparison
Sub-project A3.2 Carbon content and forest product density	Sub-Project B5.3 Nitrous oxide	Sub-project C2.3 Using process-based models to assess the permanence of carbon stocks
Sub-project A3.3 Fate of carbon stored in forest products found in landfill
Sub-project A3.4 Greenhouse gas implications of substituting forest products for alternative materials in various building designs
Sub-Project A3.5 Carbon budget for tree harvesting and conversion to forest products

CRC Expertise

Our centre brings together over one hundred of Australia's leading greenhouse researchers from most of the major scientific and land management institutions across Australia. Our major strengths include the incorporation of the most active research groups in carbon accounting found currently in both federal and state governments.

Under its establishment agreement with the Commonwealth of Australia, the CRC is required to nominate "Key Researchers" to lead its scientific discoveries. Key Researchers selected by the Centre for 2001 - 2002 are:

Prof Snow Barlow	University of Melbourne
Professor Graham Farquhar	Australian National University
Mr John Carter	Qld Dept of Natural Resources & Mines
Dr Roger Gifford	CSIRO Plant Industry
Dr Miko Kirschbaum	CSIRO Forestry and Forest Products
Dr Greg McKeon	Qld Dept of Natural Resources & Mines
Dr Chris Mitchell	CRC for Greenhouse Accounting
Dr John Raison	CSIRO Forestry and Forest Products
Dr Michael Raupach	CSIRO Land & Water

Overall, the CRC has engaged researchers from most of the relevant centres across Australia and incorporates the most active research groups relevant to carbon accounting in federal and state governments. It has a strong core of University researchers at the Australian National University and is negotiating partnership agreements with the Universities of Melbourne and Queensland. Past and present leaders of CSIRO's Biosphere Working Group play leadership roles in the CRC.

This provides an important link to CSIRO's other greenhouse activities conducted within its 'Climate and Atmosphere' Sector. Although the CSIRO program covers a wider range of research than the CRC itself, the CSIRO undertakes complementary research related to greenhouse gases and much of this research relating to sinks is incorporated within the CRC.

Research Goals

The CRC for Greenhouse Accounting is researching and developing simple, accurate and cost-effective techniques that account for the presence and behaviour of carbon (C) in our soils and vegetation biosphere.

The CRC is endeavouring to:

increase understanding of the terrestrial carbon cycle and the forces driving change;
predict responses of biophysical systems to global change;
develop methods for measuring terrestrial carbon fluxes, sources & sinks; and
develop innovative ways to manage the carbon cycle to achieve national greenhouse gas reduction objectives.

Scientifically accurate and verifiable carbon accounting techniques are necessary to underpin future carbon trading schemes as well as the successful implementation of Articles 3.3, 3.4 and 3.7 of the Kyoto Protocol.

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