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2.2. Integrating climate change into forestry: Mitigation

2.2. Integrating climate change into forestry: Mitigation. Bruno Locatelli, CIRAD-CIFOR. Objectives. To explain the contribution of forests to climate change mitigation To present which forest activities contribute to mitigate climate change To explain why and how to do carbon accounting.

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2.2. Integrating climate change into forestry: Mitigation

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  1. 2.2. Integrating climate change into forestry: Mitigation Bruno Locatelli, CIRAD-CIFOR

  2. Objectives • To explain the contribution of forests to climate change mitigation • To present which forest activities contribute to mitigate climate change • To explain why and how to do carbon accounting

  3. Discussion: • How do you understand the following concepts? • Carbon • Carbon dioxide • Carbon flux • Carbon sources • Carbon emission • Carbon sinks • Carbon absorption • Carbon removal • Carbon stock • Carbon storage • Carbon sequestration • What is the difference between adaptation and mitigation if forestry?

  4. Outline • Forests and carbon at the global scale • Forests and carbon at the ecosystem scale • Forest activities that mitigate climate change • Why and how to do carbon accounting

  5. 2.6 2.2 1.6 Residualland sink Ocean uptake Deforestation 1. Forests and carbon at the global scale Atmospheric increase 4.1 GtC/year 7.2 Fossil carbonemissions

  6. What is a ton of CO2? • Examples from daily life footprint: • Flying round-trip from New York to Los Angeles =0.9 tCO2/person • Driving an average car in the US = 5.4 tCO2/year • Living in a detached family home with 4 bedrooms • In California = 20 tCO2/yr/family • In Michigan = 51 tCO2/yr/family • National averages: • One person in the US = 25 tCO2/yr • One person in India = 1 tCO2/yr www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator/

  7. Historical forest carbon balance (MtCO2) per region, 1855-2000 Source: IPCC FAR 2007, Houghton 2003 Red= sources, Green=sinks

  8. Leaves Branches Trunks Understory Dead wood and litter Soils Roots 2. Forests and carbon at the ecosystem scale Stocks A forest = carbon stocks E.g.: 1 kg of dry wood ≈ 0.5 kg of carbon

  9. Leaves Branches Trunks Understory Dead woodand litter Soils Roots Stocks: Examples • Tropical wet forest (IPCC, 2003): • Aboveground biomass: 65 to 430 tC/ha • Soils: 44 to 130 tC/ha Aboveground biomass stocks in tropical forests(t dry matter/ha = 2 x tC/ha) (IPCC, 2003)

  10. Atmospheric CO2 ∑= Net Absorption Flux Products Fluxes A forest = a set of carbon fluxes A forest = carbon fluxes with the atmosphere Atmospheric CO2 Photosynthesis Respiration Mineralization Mortality Products Humification

  11. 30.4 Atmosphere 5.9 4.1 Atmosphere 3.9 7.0 6,8 9.7 13.7 6.3 Fluxes: Examples Estimated annual total carbon flows (tC/ha/yr) in a tropical rainforest stand near Manaus, Amazonia, Brazil (IPCC, 2000)

  12. Links between stock and flux If stock increases…. Flux: Inbound Atmospheric CO2: Decreasing (less CC)Process: Carbon fixation or removalForest: Carbon sinkExample: Growing forest

  13. Links between stock and flux If stock decreases… Flux: Outbound Atmospheric CO2: Increasing (more CC)Process: Carbon emissionForest: Carbon sourceExample: Decaying or burning forest

  14. Links between stock and flux: Examples Year 7 : Stock =135 tC/ha Year 0 :Stock =30 tC/ha Mean absorption flux = (135-30) / (7-0) = 15 tC/ha/yr

  15. Quiz Which figure represents the simplified evolution of carbon in the following cases? Carbon Carbon A non forestedland A forest conversion to non forested land use A forest unsustainably managed A plantation harvested regularly A forest converted to a plantation A conserved primary forest 1 4 Years Years Carbon Carbon 2 5 Years Years Carbon Carbon 3 6 Years Years

  16. Answer: B Additional stored carbon in alternative B compared to A = carbon that does not contribute to climate change Carbon Years Comparing scenarios • For climate change mitigation, which is the best alternative? • A pasture (A) • A forest plantation, even destroyed or burnt regularly (B)? Carbon Carbon A B Years Years

  17. Undisturbed Forests • An undisturbed forest: • A large stock • But not a large sink • +/- equilibrium (climax) • Scientific debate on this point • Measurement: sinks (CO2 fertilization, recuperation from past disturbances, spatial sampling) • Even if an undisturbed forest does not contribute to absorb GhG from the atmosphere, it is better conserving it than converting it to other uses • See next slide Carbon Years

  18. Answer: A Carbon emitted to the atmosphere underscenario B compared to A = Carbon that contributes to climate change Carbon Years Comparing scenarios • For climate change mitigation, which is the best alternative? • Conserving an undisturbed forest (A) • Converting this forest to forest plantation (B)? B A Carbon Carbon Years Years

  19. CO2 CO2 Wood Energy CO2 Energy ForestProducts • Forest products can substitute for: • Other material (steel, aluminum…) whose production emits a lot of GhG • Other energy (oil, coal, gas…) • Fuelwood: • Low CO2 balanceif harvesting is sustainableand yield is high • Better than fossil fuel balance

  20. reducing emissions caused by forest activities Less energy, oil, fertilizers... How can forest sector mitigate CC? (It is NOT a political definition) • increasing carbon stocks Creating plantations Carbon Project Benefit Developing agroforestry Forest Baseline Years • avoiding losses of carbon stocks Carbon With conservation Reducingdeforestation Benefit Baseline (Deforestation) Years Energy • producing biomaterials and bioenergy

  21. 4. Why and how to do carbon accounting? Why? • For demonstrating the impacts of a forestry program on mitigation • E.g. USAID-funded programs which contribute to the Global Climate Change Earmark • For national accounting (GhG reporting and national communications) • For selling carbon credits (for projects under the CDM or voluntary markets) • For helping forest managers to consider carbon in their activities • For improving stakeholders understanding of the role of forests in mitigation

  22. Why and how to do carbon accounting? How? • Different level of efforts and precision • On-site measurement (existing forests) • Direct measurement • Dry matter weight and carbon content • litter, dead wood… • Tree destructive sampling • Indirect measurement • Tree diameters and heights • Allometric equations • Modeling (existing or projected forests) • Remote sensing • Combined with “ground truthing” • Default factors See presentations on Carbon Accounting See IPCC Good Practice Guidance for LULUCF

  23. USAID/WinrockForest Carbon Calculator • Combines global datasets on carbon biomass, deforestation, tree growth rates, impacts of forest management • Forest protection, reforestation/afforestation, forest management, agroforestry • Not full IPCC Tier 3 analysis, but better than Tier 2 in many cases • Simple way to quickly estimate CO2 benefits of projects • Available on-line at: http://winrock.stage.datarg.net

  24. Examples of tools for carbon accounting See http://www.efi.int/projects/casfor/ (Vallejo A., 2005. SSAFR and SIAGEF joint meeting . September 2005, Sao Paulo, Brazil)

  25. Thank you for your attention

  26. References • Brown, S. 1997 Estimating biomass and biomass change of tropical forests. A primer. FAO Forestry Paper no. 137. Rome, IT. 55p. • Brown, S. 1999 Guidelines for Inventorying and Monitoring Carbon Offsets in Forest-Based Projects. Winrock International. 14p. • Brown, S. 2002a Measuring carbon in forests: current status and future challenges. Environmental Pollution 116: 363-372. http://www.winrock.org/ecosystems/files/2002ForestCarbon.pdf • Brown, S. 2002b Measuring, monitoring, and verification of carbon benefits for forest-based projects. Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society London A 360: 1669-1683. http://www.winrock.org/ecosystems • Brown, S. and Gaston, G. 1995 Use of Forest Inventories and Geographic Information Systems to Estimate Biomass Density of Tropical Forests: Application to Tropical Africa.Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 38: 157-168. http://www.winrock.org/ecosystems • CO2FIX V3.1 Manual. http://www.efi.int/projects/casfor/downloads/co2fix3_1_manual.pdf • IPCC. 2003 Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land-use Change and Forestry (GPG LULUCF). http://www.ipccnggip.iges.or.jp/public/gpglulucf • MacDicken. 1997 A Guide to Monitoring Carbon Storage in Forestry and Agroforestry Projects. Winrock. • Masera et al. 2003 Modelling carbon sequestration in afforestation, agroforestry and forest management projects: the CO2FIX V.2 approach. Ecological modelling 164:177-199.

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