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Estimation of Carbon Storage in a Mountain Longleaf Ecosystem of Northwestern Georgia

Estimation of Carbon Storage in a Mountain Longleaf Ecosystem of Northwestern Georgia. Amy Huber, Dr. Martin Cipollini Berry College, Mount Berry GA. Introduction. Longleaf Management Southern Company Longleaf Legacy Program Biomass Brown method Large Trees- point centered quarter.

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Estimation of Carbon Storage in a Mountain Longleaf Ecosystem of Northwestern Georgia

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  1. Estimation of Carbon Storage in a Mountain Longleaf Ecosystem of Northwestern Georgia Amy Huber, Dr. Martin Cipollini Berry College, Mount Berry GA

  2. Introduction • Longleaf Management • Southern Company Longleaf Legacy Program • Biomass • Brown method • Large Trees- point centered quarter

  3. Longleaf Management Study Area • On Berry Campus, Mt. Berry, Georgia • Six Longleaf Stands A,B,C,D,E,F • Four areas clearcut or selectively cut

  4. Longleaf Legacy Program • A partnership between the Southern Company and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation • Provides grants for longleaf pine ecosystem reforestation and conservation • Goals of the Longleaf Legacy Program • reforestation and restoration of longleaf pine ecosystems • sequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

  5. Biomass • Biomass is the weight of all organic components of a forest • For efficiency, different measurements are taken depending on the category and biomass is derived

  6. Brown Method for determination of Biomass Used to estimate fire fuel in western forests • Includes 6 categories of organic material • Duff • Litter • Downed woody material • Shrubs and Herbaceous • Trees under 10 ft.

  7. Trees over 10 ft. • Point centered quarter method • circumference at breast height and number each species are measured in the field • Allometric Equations can be used to estimate biomass

  8. Objectives • Estimate total biomass of large trees by using allometric equations on data collected in 2004 • Correct Brown equation for downed woody material by using fixed area measurements • Obtain total biomass estimates from data collected using the Brown method and point centered quarter method in 2004

  9. Large Tree Biomass Materials and Methods • Data on tree diameter and presence collected in summer 2004 with point centered quarter method • Allometric equations were obtained through literature for most tree species

  10. Downed Woody Material Methods • Brown Method collection of wood • Determine weight of wood • Statistical Analysis

  11. 0 ft. 6.8 ft. 13.6 ft. 50 ft. Brown Method • 13 samples from each stand A-F, SAVE 2001, clear-cut, selective cut 1 & 2 • 50 ft. 2 dimensional transect • 5 size categories 0-.25”, .25”-1”, 1”-3”. 3”+ sound, 3”+ rotten • Go-no go gauge • For all under 3” tally for each piece encountered • For over 3” take diameter

  12. 0 ft. 6.8 ft. 13.6 ft. 50 ft. Fixed Area Sampling • 1’7” to the left of the transect line • Creates a 3 dimensional area to sample woody material All 1”+ 3”+ 0-1” 1’7” x 6.8 ft. 1”-3” 1’7” x 13.6 ft. 3”+ 1’7” x 50 ft.

  13. Measure Volume of Diameter Greater than 3 Inches • Water Displacement Method for wood samples too large to weigh in the lab • Most samples diameter 3” and greater • After volume is measured, dry weight is measured and density is derived • The mass is the density multiplied by the area measured in the field Water Displacement Method for measuring volume

  14. Dry and Weigh Samples • To keep moisture content constant, all woody samples are dried • All samples are dried to constant mass at 65C

  15. Statistical tests • Regression analysis between Brown biomass estimations and Fixed area measured biomass • For each fuel class, we have calculated regression • If regression is significant we used the slope of the line to correct the Brown equation

  16. Large Tree Biomass Results

  17. Downed Woody Material Results y= 1.9403x+35.2162 R2=0.5972 Fuel Class 1: 0”-1/4”

  18. Downed Woody Material Results y= 0.58207x+398.52 R2=0.3906 Fuel Class 2: 1/4”-1”

  19. Downed Woody Material Results y= 0.51215x+478.88 R2=0.3818 Fuel Class 3: 1”-3”

  20. Downed Woody Material Results y= 2.6585x+126.768 R2=0.7884 Fuel Class 4: 3”+

  21. Downed Woody Material Statistics

  22. Downed Woody Material Statistics

  23. Downed Woody Material Statistics

  24. Total Biomass Results

  25. Conclusions • Large tree are a important component of total biomass • The Brown method equations are corrected • Total biomass for stands A-E are calculated

  26. Acknowledgements • Dr. Martin Cipollini • Chris Worrell, Larry Rogers • Berry College • National Science Foundation

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