TY - JOUR
T1 - Improved models for estimating temporal changes in carbon sequestration in above-ground biomass of mixed-species environmental plantings
AU - Paul, Keryn
AU - Roxburgh, Stephen
AU - England, Jacqueline
AU - de Ligt, Robert
AU - Larmour, John
AU - Brooksbank, Kim
AU - Murphy, Simon
AU - Ritson, Peter
AU - Hobbs, Trevor
AU - Lewis, Tom
AU - Preece, Noel
AU - Read, Zoe
AU - Clifford, David
AU - John Raison, R
N1 - Funding Information:
The project was funded largely by the Department of the Environment, with additional financial support provided by the Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries. Technical support and/or guidance and datasets were provided by Matt Searson, Laura Kmoch, Geoff McAurthur, Charles Lowson, Jaymie Norris, Tim Fairman, Rob Law, Ben Finn, Craig Neumann, Eoghan O’Connor, Tim Powe, Ben Rose Alex Drew, Gordon McLachlan, Mark Brammar, Michael Rooney, David Freudenberger, Katelyn Ryan, Mervyn Tucker, Don Butler, Geoff Minchin, Penny van Oosterzee, Angela Higgins, Lenord Cohen, Jenny Carter, Alex Lindsay, Craig Baillie, Paul Warburton, Byron Yeo, Alex Winter, Mike Cully, Len Norris, Bob Hingston, Scott Swift, Craig Barton, Fabiano Ximenes, Gavin Kay, Keith Smith, Brendan Vollemaere, Andrew Lothian and Justin Jonson. Landowners Ingrid Davies, Greg Moir, David and Michael McFall, Philip Henseleit, Alan Piggott, James Williams, Leo Rijs, John Toll, Elders Forestry, Trevor and Muriel Muirhead, Gladstone Area Water Board, Tony and Trudy Woodall, Graeme Fitzgerald, Ross Battern and David Sutton are also thanked.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2014.
PY - 2015/2/5
Y1 - 2015/2/5
N2 - Plantings of mixed native species (termed 'environmental plantings') are increasingly being established for carbon sequestration whilst providing additional environmental benefits such as biodiversity and water quality. In Australia, they are currently one of the most common forms of reforestation. Investment in establishing and maintaining such plantings relies on having a cost-effective modelling approach to providing unbiased estimates of biomass production and carbon sequestration rates. In Australia, the Full Carbon Accounting Model (FullCAM) is used for both national greenhouse gas accounting and project-scale sequestration activities. Prior to undertaking the work presented here, the FullCAM tree growth curve was not calibrated specifically for environmental plantings and generally under-estimated their biomass. Here we collected and analysed above-ground biomass data from 605 mixed-species environmental plantings, and tested the effects of several planting characteristics on growth rates. Plantings were then categorised based on significant differences in growth rates. Growth of plantings differed between temperate and tropical regions. Tropical plantings were relatively uniform in terms of planting methods and their growth was largely related to stand age, consistent with the un-calibrated growth curve. However, in temperate regions where plantings were more variable, key factors influencing growth were planting width, stand density and species-mix (proportion of individuals that were trees). These categories provided the basis for FullCAM calibration. Although the overall model efficiency was only 39-46%, there was nonetheless no significant bias when the model was applied to the various planting categories. Thus, modelled estimates of biomass accumulation will be reliable on average, but estimates at any particular location will be uncertain, with either under- or over-prediction possible. When compared with the un-calibrated yield curves, predictions using the new calibrations show that early growth is likely to be more rapid and total above-ground biomass may be higher for many plantings at maturity. This study has considerably improved understanding of the patterns of growth in different types of environmental plantings, and in modelling biomass accumulation in young (
AB - Plantings of mixed native species (termed 'environmental plantings') are increasingly being established for carbon sequestration whilst providing additional environmental benefits such as biodiversity and water quality. In Australia, they are currently one of the most common forms of reforestation. Investment in establishing and maintaining such plantings relies on having a cost-effective modelling approach to providing unbiased estimates of biomass production and carbon sequestration rates. In Australia, the Full Carbon Accounting Model (FullCAM) is used for both national greenhouse gas accounting and project-scale sequestration activities. Prior to undertaking the work presented here, the FullCAM tree growth curve was not calibrated specifically for environmental plantings and generally under-estimated their biomass. Here we collected and analysed above-ground biomass data from 605 mixed-species environmental plantings, and tested the effects of several planting characteristics on growth rates. Plantings were then categorised based on significant differences in growth rates. Growth of plantings differed between temperate and tropical regions. Tropical plantings were relatively uniform in terms of planting methods and their growth was largely related to stand age, consistent with the un-calibrated growth curve. However, in temperate regions where plantings were more variable, key factors influencing growth were planting width, stand density and species-mix (proportion of individuals that were trees). These categories provided the basis for FullCAM calibration. Although the overall model efficiency was only 39-46%, there was nonetheless no significant bias when the model was applied to the various planting categories. Thus, modelled estimates of biomass accumulation will be reliable on average, but estimates at any particular location will be uncertain, with either under- or over-prediction possible. When compared with the un-calibrated yield curves, predictions using the new calibrations show that early growth is likely to be more rapid and total above-ground biomass may be higher for many plantings at maturity. This study has considerably improved understanding of the patterns of growth in different types of environmental plantings, and in modelling biomass accumulation in young (
KW - Biodiversity plantings
KW - Carbon accounting
KW - Eucalyptus
KW - FullCAM
KW - Growth rate
KW - Reforestation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84920196415&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.foreco.2014.11.025
DO - 10.1016/j.foreco.2014.11.025
M3 - Article
SN - 0378-1127
VL - 338
SP - 208
EP - 218
JO - Forest Ecology and Management
JF - Forest Ecology and Management
IS - 8
ER -