Linking Landscape-Scale Carbon Monitoring with Forest Management
Richard
Birdsey, USDA Forest Service, rbirdsey@fs.fed.us
(Presenting)
Michael
Ryan, USDA Forest Service, mryan@fs.fed.us
Marie-Louise
Smith, USDA Forest Service, marielouisesmith@fs.fed.us
Randall
Kolka, USDA Forest Service, rkolka@fs.fed.us
Steven
McNulty, USDA Forest Service, smcnulty@fa.fed.us
John
Hom, USDA Forest Service, jhom@fs.fed.us
Chris
Potter, NASA, cpotter@mail.arc.nasa.gov
Michael
Lefsky, Colorado State University, lefsky@cnr.colostate.edu
John
Bradford, USDA Forest Service, jbbradford@fs.fed.us
Peter
Weishampel, University of Minnesota, peter.weishampel@gmail.com
We are integrating intensive ground-based measurements, remote sensing, and modeling at seven landscape-scale research sites across the U.S. to estimate carbon stocks and fluxes for forest carbon pools. As part of the North American Carbon Program, this study is intended to tie the spatially extensive, but coarsely resolved, measurements made through remote sensing and forest inventory to the spatially intensive and highly resolved measurements made at intensive monitoring sites such as the AmeriFlux network. Each study site consists of a diverse landscape that reflects the effects of natural disturbances and/or forest management activities on carbon stocks and productivity. To demonstrate the relevance of this work to land managers, we are evaluating how this information can improve decision support tools for estimating and reporting carbon stocks and changes in carbon stocks. The main products of this research include precise statistical estimates and maps of carbon stocks and productivity for a variety of forest landscape conditions; improved process models at ecoregion and stand scales; and decision-support tools for land managers interested in carbon management. We will estimate NPP and NEP for managed or disturbed tree stands in various stages of development, which will improve the ability of land managers to update or project stand-level inventories of carbon stocks for project evaluation and reporting to greenhouse gas registries. Reference data from these sites can be used by the scientific, policy, and land management communities. If successful, this project may evolve into a larger network of landscape-scale monitoring sites.