Forest-PLUS: Development of New Sampling Methodologies and Protocols

1. Forest-PLUS:Development of New Sampling Methodologies and Protocols Mark Ducey duceyscience@gmail.com or mark.ducey@unh.edu

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

3. 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, 4thed (Wiley), for release Sept. 2014

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. Downed Dead Wood is highly variable… Abundance depends on tree and branch mortality, decomposition rate, disturbance, human use…

10. … 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…)

11. 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 equations The rest use line intersect sampling • “Simple” but often misunderstood • Requires long lines for reliable estimates

12. 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

13. 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

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

15. Categories of Approaches • Sighting tube • Sampling and dimensional measurement • Allometric • Sampling without dimensional measurement • Photographic

16. Criteria • Simplicity and repeatability • Time and equipment cost • Robust to changes in technology • Easy to integrate with existing protocols and planned tools

17. Products • Literature Review • Draft Field Protocol • Analytical Procedures • Field Examples • Training Document • Where Possible, Integration into Community/MRV Tools • Refined Protocols Based on Experience