CGE Training Materials National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry...

CGE Training Materials

National Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) Sector

Version 2, April 2012

Training Materials for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Consultative Group of Experts (CGE)

Target Audience and Objective of the Training Materials

• These training materials are suitable for people with beginner to intermediate level knowledge

of national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory development.

• After having read this Presentation, in combination with the related documentation, the reader

should:

a) Have an overview of how emissions inventories are developed for the land use, land-use

change and forestry sector;

b) Have a general understanding of the methods available, as well as of the main challenges

of GHG inventory development in that particular area;

c) Be able to determine which methods suits their country’s situation best;

d) Know where to find more detailed information on the topic discussed.

• These training materials have been developed primarily on the basis of methodologies

developed by the IPCC; hence the reader is always encouraged to refer to the original

documents to obtain further detailed information on a particular issue.

2Training Materials for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories


Acronyms

• AD Activity Data

• AGR Annual Growth Rate

• EF Emission Factor

• EFDB IPCC Emission Factor Database

• GPG Good Practice Guidance

• LUCF Land-Use Change and Forestry

• LULUCF Land Use, land-Use Change and Forestry

• RF Removal Factor



Introduction (slide 5)

Definitions (slide 6)

Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines (slide 10)

IPCC good practice guidance for LULUCF (GPG 2003) (slide 36)

Outline of Course – Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF)



• This presentation aims to assist non-Annex I (NAI) Party experts in preparing

GHG inventories in the LULUCF sector using the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines

and the IPCC good practice guidance for LULUCF (GPG 2003), particularly in the

context of UNFCCC decision 17/CP.8, focusing on:

a) The need to shift to GPG 2003 and higher tiers/methods to reduce uncertainty

b) Overview of the tools and methods

c) Review of activity data (AD) and emission factors (EF) and options to reduce

uncertainty

d) Use of UNFCCC inventory software and IPCC emission factor database

(EFDB).

Introduction



• LUCF (Land-Use Change and Forestry) – Land use is the type of activity being carried out on a unit of land, such as forest land, cropland and grassland. The Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines refer to sources and sinks associated with GHG emissions/removals from human activities, which:a) Change the way land is used (e.g., clearing of forest for agriculture,

conversion of grassland to forest)b) Affect the amount of biomass in existing biomass stocks (e.g., forest,

village trees, savanna) and soil carbon stocks.

• LULUCF (Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry) – This includes GHG emissions/removals resulting from managed land (involving no change in use, such as forest remaining forest land) and land-use changes (involving changes in land-use, such as grassland converted to forest land or forest land converted to cropland).

Definition of Key Terms



• Source – Any process or activity that releases a GHG (such as CO2 and CH4) into the

atmosphere. A carbon pool can be a source of carbon to the atmosphere if less carbon is

flowing into it than is flowing out of it.

• Sink – Any process, activity or mechanism that removes a GHG from the atmosphere. A

given pool can be a sink for atmospheric carbon if during a given time interval more carbon

is flowing into it than is flowing out of it.

Definitions (cont.)



• Activity data – Data on the magnitude of human activity, resulting in emissions/removals

taking place during a given period of time (e.g., data on land area, management systems,

lime and fertilizer use).

• Emission factor – A coefficient that relates the activity data to the amount of chemical

compound, which is the source of later emissions. Emission/removal factors are often

based on a sample of measurement data, averaged to develop a representative rate of

emission or removal for a given activity level under a given set of operating conditions.

• Removal factor – Rate at which carbon is taken up from the atmosphere by a terrestrial

system and sequestered in biomass and soil.

Definitions (cont.)



Contribution and Role of LUCF Sector to NAI GHG Emissions: 3 examples

• Argentina, Indonesia and Zimbabwe for 1994

• LUCF sector has a significant impact on national net CO2 equivalent emissions in most

developing countries, being sink or source

• LUCF sector is a net sink for Argentina and Zimbabwe

• Net source for Indonesia, which experienced forest land conversion of over one Mha

• Inclusion of LUCF sector in the inventory had the following impact on GHG emissions:

a) Argentina: Emissions of 119 Tg CO2 when LUCF excluded, but 84 TgCO2 when

LUCF included

b) Indonesia: Emissions of 189 Tg CO2 when LUCF excluded, but 344 Tg CO2 when

LUCF included.

c) Zimbabwe: Source of 17 Tg CO2 when LUCF excluded, but a net sink of 45 TgCO2

when LUCF included.



• The flux of CO2 to/from atmosphere is assumed to be equal to changes in carbon

stocks in existing biomass and soils

• Changes in carbon stocks can be estimated by establishing rates of change in land

use and practices that bring about change in land use

• Estimating carbon stocks in land-use categories:

• That are not subjected to change

• That are changed.

Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines: Basic assumptions



Four Default Categories in Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines

5A. Changes in forest and other woody biomass stocks due to:

a) Commercial management

b) Harvest of industrial roundwood (logs) and fuelwood

c) Establishment and operation of forest plantations

d) Planting of trees in urban, village and non-forest locations.

5B. Forest and grassland conversion:

a) The conversion of forests and grassland to pasture, cropland etc, can

significantly change carbon stocks in vegetation and soil.

5C. Abandonment of cropland, pasture, plantation forests, or other managed

lands 5D. CO2 emissions and removals from soils:

a) Cultivation of mineral soils

b) Cultivation of organic soils

c) Liming of agricultural soils.



Reporting of GHG Inventory in the LUCF Sector – Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines

LUCF categories CO2 emissions

CO2 removal/uptake

CH4 N2O CO NOx

5A. Changes in forest and other woody biomass stocks

5B. Forest and grassland conversion

5C. Abandonment of croplands, pastures, plantation forests, or other managed lands

5D. CO2 emissions and removals from soils

5E. Others TOTAL



Basic Steps in Preparing Inventory Using Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines

• Step 0: The Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines do not provide a key category analysis

approach. Inventory experts are encouraged to conduct it using GPG 2003.

• Step 1: Select the land-use categories (forest/plantations), vegetation types

subjected to conversion (forest and grassland), changes in land-use/management

systems (for soil carbon inventory).

• Step 2: Assemble the required AD, depending on tier selected, from local,

provincial, national and global databases, including EFDB.



• Step 3: Collect EF/RF, depending on tier level selected, from

local/regional/national/global databases, including EFDB.

• Step 4: Estimate GHG emissions and removals.

• Step 5: Estimate uncertainty involved.

• Step 6: Report GHG emissions/removals.

• Step 7: Report all procedures, equations and sources of data used for GHG

inventory estimation.

Basic Steps in Preparing Inventory Using Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines (cont.)



• Step 1: Estimate total biomass carbon uptake by using area under different

plantations/forests (AD) and annual biomass growth rate (removal factor).

• Step 2: Estimate total biomass consumption by adding commercial harvest,

fuelwood consumption and other wood use.

• Step 3: Estimate the net carbon uptake or release by deducting the consumption

or loss from total biomass carbon uptake.

Category 5A. Steps



Sources of AD

Activity data Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Area of plantation/forests

- National sources such as the Ministry of Environment / Forests/ Natural Resources - International data sources such as FAO and TBFRA

- National sources such as the Ministry of Environment /Forests/Natural Resources

- National remote sensing/satellite assessment sources

Harvest categories (e.g., sawn wood, industrial wood and fuelwood)

- - National sources - National sources according to forest/plantation categories

Commercial harvest (e.g. industrial roundwood)

- FAO Yearbook of Forest Products Website: www.fao.org

- National sources - FAO Yearbook of Forest Products

- Country-specific data according to forest/plantation categories - National production /consumption data

Traditional fuelwood use

- FAO Yearbook of Forest Products Website: www.fao.org

National data sources

- FAO Yearbook of Forest Products

- Country-specific data - National production /consumption data

Other wood use Same as for commercial harvest/fuelwood use



• The key emission/removal factors include:

• annual biomass growth rate, carbon fraction of dry matter, biomass expansion

ratio.

• Biomass Expansion Ratios (BERs) as given in the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines

are required to convert commercial roundwood harvested biomass (in m3) to total

above-ground biomass (in tonnes).

• Similarly, AGB/BGB ratio is required to estimate BGB using data on AGB and the

conversion ratio, according to GPG 2003.

Emission/Removal Factors



Sources of EF/RF

EF/RF Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Annual biomass growth rate

- Default values from IPCC 1996GL and GPG2003 - EFDB

- Default data; 1996GL, GPG2003 - Country-specific data - EFDB

- National forest inventory or monitoring system - Allometric equations

Carbon fraction of dry matter

- Default data of 0.5 - Default data of 0.5 - Species-specific data from laboratory estimations

Biomass expansion ratio (BER)

- Default values of 1.8 - Default data of 1.8 - National data for key forest types

- Species-specific data from measurements



Assessment of Emission Factors and Strategy for Improvement

• To reduce uncertainty, it is desirable to use nationally derived AD and EF at as

disaggregated level as possible.

• Example: Annual Growth Rate (AGR) of biomass is mean annual above-ground

biomass growth rate expressed in t/ha/year. AGR varies with:

• Forest or vegetation or plantation types (e.g. evergreen/deciduous/eucalyptus)

• Climatic region based on latitude and rainfall (e.g. humid, sub-humid, semi-arid,

arid)

• Age of the forest or plantation stand

• Management system or silvicultural practice (e.g. thinning, fertilizer application,

fire management).



Short-term Strategy for Improving AGR Values

• Disaggregate the land use, forest or vegetation types occurring in the country at as

fine a level as possible along the following lines or using other more nationally

relevant stratification:

• Different forest types/vegetation types/plantations

• Latitude: tropical, temperate, boreal

• Rainfall zone (mm/yr): humid (>2000), semiarid (500–1000), arid (<500)

• Age of the stand: 0–5 yr, 5 to 10 yr, 10–20 yr, > 20yr

• Management system: naturally regenerated or planted

• Other category.

• Allocate area of different forest types/plantations in the country, using forest map,

rainfall zone map, soil map and other statistical information.



Illustration of UNFCCC Inventory Software – Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines



Total carbon uptake increment (in kt C) = Area of forest/plantation category (in kha) * Annual growth rate (in t dm/ha) * Carbon fraction of dry matter

From UNFCCC Software Sheet 5-1s1

Category 5B. Forest and Grassland Conversion

Worksheet 5.2



Category 5B. Steps

• Step 1: Estimate annual loss of biomass due to conversion.

• Step 2: Estimate quantity of carbon released from fraction of biomass burned on-

site.

• Step 3: Estimate quantity of carbon released from fraction of biomass burned off-

site.

• Step 4: Estimate carbon released from decay of above-ground biomass.

• Step 5: Estimate total annual CO2 release from burning and decay of biomass,

resulting from forest and grassland conversion.



Issues in Estimating CO2 Emissions from Biomass – Forest and Grassland Conversion

• Lack of compatibility between Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines vegetation types and

national circumstances or classification

• Absence of forest and grassland conversion data for the inventory year as well as

the 10-year average

• Lack of methods for savanna/grassland burning

• Lack of disaggregated activity data on biomass stock before and after conversion

• Lack of clarity on fraction of biomass burnt on-site, off-site and left to decay

• Biomass burned for energy is reported in the energy sector.



Sources of AD

AD factors Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Area converted annually Average area converted (10-year average)

- FAO: Tropical Forest Assessment Report

- National data on area conversion at disaggregated level - If no national data, use data from FAO: Tropical Forest Assessment Report

- Ministry of Land Resources - Satellite or remote sensing data



Sources of EF

EF Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Aboveground biomass before and after conversion

- Data from national forest inventory at finer scales according to forest/grassland categories - Ecological / silvicultural studies in different categories

Fraction of biomass burnt on-site and off-site

- IPCC 1996GL - GPG2003 - EFDB

- National/regional scientific literature - EFDB - GPG2003 - National forest inventory

data - Biomass consumption data according to forest/grassland categories

Fraction of biomass oxidised

- Default value of 0.9


- National forest inventories - Field measurements

Carbon fraction of biomass



- Published data at species level

Fraction of biomass left to decay

- Default value of 10 t/ha

- Default value of 10 t/ha

- National forest inventory



Category 5C. Abandonment of Managed Lands

Worksheet 5-4



MO DULE LAND-USE CHANGE AND FO RESTRY

SUBMO DULE ABANDO NMENT O F MANAGED LANDS

WO RKSHEET 5-4

SHEET 1 O F 3 CARBO N UPTAKE BY ABO VEGRO UND REGRO WTH - FIRST 20 YEARS

CO UNTRY 0

YEAR 0

STEP 1

A B C D EVegetation types 20-Year Total

Area Abandoned

and Regrowing

Annual Rate of Aboveground

Biomass Growth

Annual Aboveground

Biomass Growth

Carbon Fraction of

Aboveground Biomass

Annual Carbon

Uptake in Aboveground

Biomass(kha) (t dm/ha) (kt dm) (kt C)

C = (A x B) E = (C x D)

Tropical Wet/Very Moist 0.00 0.00

Moist, short dry season 0.00 0.00

Moist, long dry season 0.00 0.00

Dry 0.00 0.00

Montane Moist 0.00 0.00

Montane Dry 0.00 0.00

Tropical Savanna/Grasslands 0.00 0.00

Temperate Coniferous 0.00 0.00

Broadleaf 0.00 0.00

Grasslands 0.00 0.00

Boreal Mixed Broadleaf/Coniferous

0.00 0.00

Coniferous 0.00 0.00

Forest tundra 0.00 0.00

Grasslands/Tundra 0.00 0.00

Other 0.00 0.00

Subtotal 0.00

Category 5C. Steps Estimation Procedure

• Step 1: Estimate the annual carbon uptake in above-ground biomass, using the

area abandoned (during the previous 20 years) and annual biomass growth.

• Step 2: Estimate the total carbon uptake from area abandoned (during 20–100

years) and annual growth rate.

• Step 3: Estimate the total carbon uptake from abandoned land (Step 1 + Step 2).



Issues in Estimating CO2 Uptake from Abandonment of Managed Lands

• Lack of compatibility between vegetation types given in the Revised 1996 IPCC

Guidelines and national classification for abandoned land

• Lack of methods to identify managed land abandoned and regenerating:

• according to different vegetation types

• for the past 20 years and 20–100 years

• Absence of annual data for aboveground biomass growth for abandoned land:

• according to different vegetation types

• for the past 20 years and 20–100 years.



Category 5D. CO2 Emissions and Removals from Soils

Worksheet 5-5



Category 5D. Steps

• Step 1: Changes in soil carbon for mineral soils.

• Step 2: Carbon emissions from intensively managed organic soils.

• Step 3: Carbon emissions from liming of agricultural soils.



Methodological and Data Related Issues on Soil Carbon

• Absence of linkage between biomass carbon and soil carbon for different land

categories or vegetation types

• Ambiguity in classification of land-use/management systems, and soil types

• Absence of activity data on land area under different conditions:

• land-use/management systems

• soil type

• for periods t (inventory year), and t–20

• intensively managed organic soils

• Absence of emission factors such as soil carbon in mineral soils and annual loss

rate of carbon in managed organic soils.



Sources of AD



Sources of Emission/Removal Factors

Activity data and emissions/removal factor

Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3

Soil carbon in different land use / management systems and soil types

- FAO soil survey database at aggregated land use / management system level - IPCC 1996GL

- National soil survey sources for different land use systems

- National forest inventory studies - Experimental studies in different land use systems

Annual rate of loss of carbon from managed organic soils

- Global database - IPCC 1996GL

- National sources - IPCC 1996GL

- National forest inventory in organic soils - Field studies on organic soil carbon

Carbon conversion factor from lime to carbon

- IPCC 1996GL

- IPCC 1996GL

- IPCC 1996GL

Base factor Tillage factor Input factor

- IPCC 1996GL - EFDB





Summary of Methodological Issues/Problems in GHG Inventory Using the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines

• Compatibility of Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines land categories to national

classification

• High uncertainty of inventory, AD and EF

• Lack of disaggregated data, particularly on vegetation types

• Lack of clarity for reporting estimates of emissions/removals in managed natural

forest

• Lack of consistency in estimating/reporting total biomass or only above-ground

biomass

• Lack of methods for below-ground biomass and for incorporating non-forest areas,

such as coffee, tea, coconut, cashew nut

• Difficulty in differentiating managed (anthropogenically impacted) and natural

forests

• Ambiguity in terminology, e.g. forest, afforestation, reforestation, managed forest

• Complexity of the methodology.



Land-Use Categories and Methods

36

GPG 2003 LULUCF



Mapping/Linkage Between the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines and GPG2003

• GPG 2003 is based on a land-use category approach, and provides a procedure to

link inventory estimates of GPG 2003 to the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines, based

on Categories 5A to 5D.

• However, the inventory estimates obtained using the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines

could be different from the estimates obtained using GPG 2003 due to the following

reasons:

• Inclusion of additional land categories, e.g. agro-forestry, coconut, coffee, tea

• Inclusion of additional carbon pools; belowground biomass, dead organic matter,

etc.

• Estimation of biomass increment and losses in each land category, sub-category

• Linking of biomass and soil carbon for each land category

• Use of improved default values.



Reporting of GHG Inventory in the LULUCF Sector – GPG2003

Net CO2 emissions / removals (1) CH4 N2O NOx CO Greenhouse gas source and sink categories

IPCC guidelines

(Gg) 5. Total Land-Use Categories 5.A. Forest Land 5.A.1. Forest Land remaining Forest Land 5A 5.A.2. Land converted to Forest Land 5A, 5C, 5D 5.B. Cropland 5.B.1. Cropland remaining Cropland 5A, 5D 5.B.2. Land converted to Cropland 5B, 5D 5.C. Grassland 5.C.1. Grassland remaining Grassland 5A, 5D 5.C.2. Land converted to Grassland 5C, 5D 5.D. Wetlands (2) 5.D.1. Wetlands remaining Wetlands 5A, 5E 5.D.2. Land converted to Wetlands 5B, 5E 5.E. Settlements (2) 5.E.1. Settlements remaining Settlements 5A 5.E.2. Land converted to Settlements 5B, 5E 5.F. Other Land (2) 5.F.1. Other Land remaining Other Land 5A 5.F.2. Land converted to Other Land 5B, 5E 5.G. Other (please specify) (2) Harvested Wood Products (2)



GPG2003 adopted two major advances over the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines. The

first is:

1. Three hierarchical tiers of methods:

• T1: use of default data and simple equations

• T2: use of country-specific data and

• T3: models to accommodate national circumstances.

GPG2003 - Major Advancements: 1



Rationale for Adopting GPG2003

Addresses most of the methodological limitations and inadequacies of IPCC 1996GL

Adopts key source/sink category analysis, which enables dedication of limited inventory resources to key source/sink categories, CO2 pools and non-CO2 gases

Enables estimation of carbon stock changes and non-CO2 emissions for all the relevant geographic area

Accounts for all the five carbon pools Ensures consistent representation of land for long-term periodic

inventories Reduces uncertainty in GHG estimates



Combination of Tiers

• NAI experts can adopt multiple tiers in the GHG inventory for LULUCF sector:

• For different land-use categories

• Within a given land-use category for different carbon pools

• Within a carbon pool, for activity data and emission factor.

Adopt higher tiers for key categories and wherever possible use country-specific, climatic region-specific emission/removal factors



GPG 2003 - Major Advancements: 2

2. Land-use-category-based approach for organizing methodologies:

• Six land-use categories to ensure consistent representation, covering all geographic areas of a country

• Forest land, cropland, grassland, wetland, settlements and other lands

• Each land-use category is further disaggregated to reflect the past and the current land use:

• Forest land remaining forest land

• Lands converted to forest land.



In addition GPG 2003 includes Key Source/Sink Category Analysis

• GPG 2003 assists Parties in identifying the key:

• Land categories (e.g. forest land, cropland, etc.)

• Gases (CO2, CH4 and N2O)

• Carbon pools (living biomass, dead organic matter and soil organic carbon).

• The decision trees given in GPG 2003 could be adopted:

• Decision trees at two levels of disaggregation:

• Land remaining in the same land-use category (e.g. forest land remaining forest land)

• Land converted to another land-use category (e.g. grassland converted to forest).



• Forest land: all land with woody vegetation consistent with thresholds used to define

forest land in the national GHG inventory, sub-divided into managed and unmanaged,

and also by ecosystem type as specified in the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines. Also

includes systems with vegetation that fall below, but are expected to exceed, the

threshold of the forest land category.

• Cropland: land that is not forest land or grassland. (Arable and tillage land, and agro-

forestry systems where woody vegetation falls below the thresholds used for the forest

land).

Definitions of Land-Use Categories in GPG 2003



Definitions (cont.)

• Grassland: rangelands and pasture land that is not forest land or cropland. (Pasture

lands with woody vegetation below the threshold used in the forest land category and

not expected to exceed it without human intervention are included).

• Settlements: all developed land, including transportation infrastructure and human

settlements of any size, unless they are already included under other categories. This

should be consistent with the selection of national definitions.



Definitions (cont.)

• Wetland: land covered or saturated by water for all or part of the year and that does

not fall into the forest land, cropland, grassland or settlements categories.

• Other lands: includes bare soil, rock, ice, and all unmanaged land areas that do not

fall into any of the other five categories. It allows the total of identified land areas to

match the national area, where data are available.



Important…

• Classify land under only one category to prevent double counting.

• It is good practice to combine or disaggregate the existing land classes of a land-use

classification in order to use the categories presented here, and to report on the

procedure adopted.

• It is good practice to specify national definitions for all categories used in the

inventory and report any threshold or parameter values used in the definitions.



Other Categories

• Harvested wood products (HWP), wetlands and other sources/sinks

• Default assumption of Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines is that:

• HWP pool is constant. So carbon removed in wood and other biomass from

forests is oxidized in the year of harvest

• Countries may report on HWP pools, if they can document that existing stocks

of forest products are in fact increasing

• GPG2003-Appendix provides guidance on methodological issues for accounting

emissions and removals from HWP.



Land Representation is Key: 3 Approaches in GPG 2003

Approach 1:



Approach 2



Approach 3: Spacially Explicit (GIS required)



• CO2 emissions and removal are estimated for all the carbon pools namely:

• Aboveground biomass (AB)

• Belowground biomass (BB)

• Soil organic carbon (SOC)

• Dead organic matter (DOM) and woody litter (L)

Carbon Pools



• Non-CO2 gases estimated include:

• CH4, N2O, CO and NOx

• Sources of non-CO2 gases:

• N2O and CH4 from forest fires

• N2O from managed (fertilized) forests

• N2O from drainage of forest soils

• N2O and CH4 from managed wetland

• Soil emissions of N2O from land-use conversion.

Non-CO2 Gases and Sources of Non-CO2 Gases



Broad Approach and Steps in Adopting GPG 2003

• Accounts for all land-use categories and subcategories, all carbon pools and non-

CO2 gases, depending on key source/sink category analysis

• Select nationally adopted land-use classification system (categories and sub-

categories) for inventory estimation. Each land category is further subdivided into:

• Land remaining in the same category (e.g. forest land remaining forest land)

• Other land category converted to this land category (e.g. grassland converted

to forest land).



Broad Approach and Steps in Adopting GPG 2003 (cont.)

• Select appropriate land classification system most relevant to country

• Conduct key source/sink category analysis to identify the key:

• Land categories and subcategories

• Non-CO2 gases

• Carbon pools.



1. Select appropriate tier level for key land categories and sub-categories, non-CO2

gases and carbon pools, based on key category analysis as well as resources

available for the inventory process.

2. Assemble required AD, depending on tier selected, from regional, national and

global databases.

3. Collect EF/RF, depending on tier selected, from regional, national and global

databases, forest inventories, national greenhouse gas inventory studies, field

experiments and surveys and use of EFDB.

Steps to Adopting GPG 2003



4. Select method of estimation, based on tier level selected, quantify emissions/removals for each land-use category, carbon pool and non-CO2 gas. Adopt default worksheet provided

in GPG2003.

5. Estimate uncertainty.

6. Adopt quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) procedures and report results.

7. Report GHG emissions and removals using the reporting tables.

8. Document and archive all information used.

Steps to Adopting GPG 2003



Features of Land-category-based Approach – Forest Land

• Estimates carbon stock changes and GHG emissions/removals associated with

changes in biomass and soil organic carbon on forest land and lands converted to

forest land:

• Forest land remaining forest

• Land converted to forest

• Provides methodology for five carbon pools

• Links biomass and soil carbon pools for the same land areas (at higher tiers).



64

Where:

ΔC FFLB = annual change in carbon stocks in living biomass (includes above- and belowground biomass) in forest land remaining forest land, tonnes C yr -1

C t2 = total carbon in biomass calculated at time t2, tonnes C

C t1 = total carbon in biomass calculated at time t1, tonnes C

V = merchantable volume, m3 ha-1

D = basic wood density, tonnes d.m. m-3 merchantable volume

BEF2 = biomass expansion factor for conversion of merchantable volume to aboveground tree biomass, dimensionless.



Features of Land-category-based Approach – Cropland

• Provides methods for estimating carbon stock changes in living biomass, mineral

soils and in organic soils

• Provides methods for estimating annual N2O emissions from mineral soils due to

addition of nitogen (in the form of fertilizer, manure and crop residue) and nitrogen

released by soil organic matter mineralization

• These categories are estimated and reported in the agriculture sector in Revised

1996 IPCC Guidelines.



Features of Land-category-based Approach – Grassland

• Methodology for estimating carbon stock changes in living biomass and soils in

grassland and lands converted to grassland

• Estimates annual change in carbon stocks in living biomass and soil organic carbon

(mineral soils and cultivated organic soils) in grassland remaining grassland and lands

converted to grassland

• Methodology for estimating non-CO2 emissions from vegetation fires based on: area of

grassland burned, mass of available fuel, combustion efficiency and emission factor

for each GHG from grassland remaining grassland and land converted to grassland.



Features of Land-category-based Approach – Wetlands

• The GHGs estimated include CO2, CH4 and N2O

• Methodology for estimating GHGs for ‘wetlands remaining wetlands’ is given in the

Appendix and for GHGs from ‘lands converted to wetlands’ in the main text

• Estimates changes in carbon stocks in lands converted to wetlands due to peat

extraction and land converted to flooded land

• Estimates N2O emissions from peatland drainage and flooded land and CH4

emissions from flooded land.



Features of Land-category-based Approach – Settlements and Other Land

Settlements:

• Provides methodology for estimating CO2 emissions and removals for ‘lands

converted to settlements’ and methodology is given in Appendix for ‘settlements

remaining settlements’

• Methods for estimating annual change in carbon stocks in living biomass in ‘forest

lands converted to settlements’ based on area of land converted and carbon stock

in living biomass immediately before and after conversion to settlements.

Other land:

• Changes in carbon stocks and non-CO2 emissions/removals need not be

assessed for category of ‘other land remaining other land’

• Methodology provided for estimating annual change in carbon stocks in ‘land

converted to other land’ based on estimates of change in carbon stocks in living

biomass and SOC.



Improvements for the Future

• Non-Annex I Parties may have to:

• Initiate dedicated inventory programmes

• Provide infrastructural and technical support for sustained inventory

process.

• This may involve:

• Organizing periodic forest inventories

• Use of satellite or remote-sensing-based land-use maps

• Development of nationally relevant emission/removal factors.

• It is likely that many NAI Parties lack resources needed to initiate satellite-

based monitoring:

• Obtain satellite maps from institutions such as FAO, UNEP and NASA

and undertake ground truthing.



Short-term Strategy…

• Check Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines, GPG 2003, EFDB and other global sources

and select the closest default values

• Check whether any national forest inventory studies are available (many NAI Parties

have them) and collect the growth rate data

• Review the national and international literature (web sites of FAO, CGIAR centres,

universities, books and reports)

• Compile all the parameter values available from national and international sources for

the disaggregated or stratified forest/plantation types

• Select the most appropriate AGR for each stratum of the forest/plantation types.



Long-term Strategy for Improving AGR Values

• Initiate national forest inventory studies

• Disaggregate/stratify the forest/plantation types

• Adopt sampling technique as explained in GPG2003 (Chapter 3 and 4)

• Adopt permanent plots with proper boundaries marked for periodic revisits

• Refer to any text book on ‘forest mensuration’ or web sites such as

www.winrock.org, www.cifor.org, etc., for methods of measurement and estimation

• Estimate the standard deviation or variance.



Comparing Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines

and GPG 2003



Comparison of GPG 2003 and the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines

GPG2003 IPCC 1996GL i) Land category based approach covering forest land, cropland, grassland, wetland, settlement and others

i) Approach based on four categories namely 5A to 5D (refer to Section 5.1) All land categories not included such as coffee, tea, coconut etc. Lack of clarity on agro-forestry

ii) These land categories are further sub divided into;

land remaining in the same use category

1. other land converted to this land category

ii) Forest and grassland categories defined in 5A and 5B

iii) Methods given for all carbon pools; AGB, BGB, dead organic matter and soil carbon and all non-CO2 gases

iii) Methods provided mainly for aboveground biomass and soil carbon.

2. Assumes as a default that changes in carbon stocks in dead organic matter pools are not significant and can be assumed to be zero, i.e. inputs balance losses.

3. Similarly, belowground biomass increment or changes are generally assumed to be zero

iv) Key source/sink category analysis provided for selecting significant

land categories sub-land categories C-pools CO2 and non-CO2 gases

iv) Key source/sink category analysis not provided

v) Three tier structure presented for choice of methods, Activity Data and Emission Factors

v) Three tier structure approach presented but its application to choice of methods, AD and EF not provided

vi) Biomass and soil carbon pools linked vi) Changes in stock of biomass and soil carbon in a given vegetation or forest type not linked



Key Activity Data Required for GPG 2003 and Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines

GPG2003 IPCC 1996GL FOREST LAND i) Area of forest land remaining forest land

Disaggregation according to climatic region, vegetation type, species, management system, age etc.

ii) Area of other land category converted to forest land

Disaggregation as mentioned above iii) Forest area affected by disturbances iv) Forest area undergoing transition from state (i) to (j) v) Area of forest burnt vi) Total afforested land derived from cropland/grassland vii) Area of land converted to forest land through

natural regeneration establishment of plantations

Category 5A to 5D i) Area of plantation/forests ii) Area converted annually iii) Average area converted (10-year average) iv) Area abandoned and regenerating

20-years prior to year of inventory 20-100 years prior to the year of inventory

v) Area under different land use/management systems and soil type

during year-t (inventory year) 20-years prior to year-t

vi) Area under managed organic soils

CROPLAND, GRASSLAND, WETLAND ETC. Similar categorization as above



Key Emission Factors Required for GPG 2003 and Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines

Average annual net increment in volume suitable for industrial processing

Annual biomass transfer into deadwood

Biomass expansion factor (BEF) for conversion of annual net increment (including bark) to above ground tree biomass increment

Annual biomass transfer out of deadwood

Root:shoot ratio appropriate to increment Litter stock under different management systems

Biomass expansion factor (BEF) for converting volumes of extracted roundwood to total aboveground biomass (including bark)

Soil organic carbon in different management systems

Mortality rate in naturally and artificially regenerated forest

Mass of biomass fuel present in area subjected to burning

Emission factors common to both: Aboveground biomass growth rate, biomass density Aboveground biomass stock, soil carbon density Fraction of biomass left to decay.



Conclusion and Strategy for the Future



• NAI experts and compilation and synthesis reports by UNFCCC have identified a

number of issues and problems in using the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines,

including:

• Lack of clarity in the methods and inadequacies of the methods

• Lack of AD and EF

• Low quality or reliability of AD and EF

• High uncertainty of AD and EF, leading to uncertainty in inventory estimates

• Unsuitability.

Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines



GPG 2003

• GPG 2003 was intended to overcome some of the methodological issues/problems

identified in using the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines

a) Suggests methods to reduce uncertainty

b) Suggests an improved land category and full carbon (and non-CO2 gases)

estimation based approach and methods.

• Adoption of GPG 2003 approach will lead to:

• Full and consistent representation, consideration and reporting of all land

categories

• Full carbon (all 5 carbon pools) estimation

• Reduced uncertainty

• Efficient use of limited inventory resources.



Thank you!



CGE Training Materials National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry...

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Transcript of CGE Training Materials National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry...