Forest-PLUS:Development of New Sampling Methodologies

and Protocols

Mark Duceyduceyscience@gmail.com or

mark.ducey@unh.edu

Overview

• Brief Introduction• Methodology Development Goals• Candidate Areas for New Methods• Possible Examples• Conclusions and Next Steps

Who Am I?

• Forest Biometrician (PhD, Yale, 1996)• Active research interests in applied sampling

and links to remotely sensed data• Professor, University of New Hampshire• Senior Fellow, The Carsey Institute• Editor, Forestry (Oxford University Press)• Coauthor, Forest Mensuration, 4th ed (Wiley),

for release Sept. 2014

Roles Within The Project

• Support AGS and MSU in design of protocols and analyses to support community-based data collection

• Develop new sampling methodologies to support carbon accounting and integration with remote sensing

• Develop training modules and train cadre of instructors to enhance capacity

Goal: Develop Three Sampling Methodologies to Support Carbon

Inventory[1] Assess existing institutional capacity and human resources for adopting advanced

sampling and analysis methods; identify those methods that are most promising given potential institutional capacity

[2] Identify the methods for which a combination of capacity-building, technology transfer, and adaptation of methods to India will lead to the most likely benefits in terms of accuracy of carbon estimates and resource efficiency

[3] Develop new methods and approaches for conditions in India, with training materials

[4] Work with scientists and other partners from the Government of India, relying on the expertise in technology transfer and training within the AGS and MSU teams to modify the pilot methods

Likely Subjects for Work

• Downed Dead Wood– Direct link to carbon inventory– Identify method that is efficient and compatible

with existing inventory• Crown Area/Canopy Cover– Link to remotely sensed data– International definitions of forest and Other

Wooded Lands– Possible indicator of forest degradation

Other Possibilities…• Small Tree Biomass/Carbon

– Significant progress is already being made with ongoing efforts in India… is this an area where further work would be helpful?

• Top Wood/Branches– Again, there is active work on this already; are there needs to integrate this into

existing systems?• Herbaceous and Shrub Layer• Belowground

– This is the hardest carbon pool to measure!– Field methods? Improved models? Operational vs. research-oriented

measurements?• Other Areas?

– Work should be driven by end-user needs– Improve carbon estimates, enhance efficiency, and build capacity

Roles of Downed Dead Woodin Managed Ecosystems

• Carbon and Nutrient Source/Sink• Wildlife Habitat• Fuel• Riparian Structure and Function• Habitat for Bark Beetles, Fungi, etc.• Regeneration Microsite

Downed Dead Wood is highly variable…

Abundance depends on tree and branch mortality, decomposition rate, disturbance, human use…

… and can be challenging to measure

• Patchy and sometimes rare• Irregular form• Variation in structure and C content with

decay (and species)• Can be cryptic (advanced decay, understory

vegetation…)

How To Sample DDW?

The majority of NFI’s that measure DDW use fixed-area plots.• Simple and familiar• Time consuming, error-prone, need volume

equationsThe rest use line intersect sampling• “Simple” but often misunderstood• Requires long lines for reliable estimates

Are there alternatives?

• Transect relascope sampling• Point relascope sampling• Prism-sweep method• Perpendicular distance sampling• Line intercept distance sampling• And modifications of all of the above…Most of which have not been tested in tropical or subtropical forest ecosystems

Canopy Cover

• Key variable for defining “forest” vs. “other wooded lands” and other categories under international definitions

• Critical link to optical and LiDAR remote sensing products

• Metric for quantifying forest disturbance and/or degradation

Definitions

Canopy Cover: fraction of the horizontal plane occupied by projected tree crownsCrown Cover: sum of the areas of tree crowns projected onto the horizontal planeCanopy Closure: proportion of the sky obscured by canopy elements when viewed from a single pointGap Fraction: proportion of sky not obscured… but is that from a point or looking vertically?

Categories of Approaches

• Sighting tube• Sampling and

dimensional measurement

• Allometric• Sampling without

dimensional measurement

• Photographic

Criteria

• Simplicity and repeatability

• Time and equipment cost

• Robust to changes in technology

• Easy to integrate with existing protocols and planned tools

Products

• Literature Review• Draft Field Protocol• Analytical Procedures• Field Examples• Training Document• Where Possible, Integration into

Community/MRV Tools• Refined Protocols Based on Experience