Assessing, Measuring, and Monitoring Carbon Sequestration from Changes in Land Management

Sandra Brown

Winrock Internationalsbrown@winrock.org

Regional Scientific Workshop: Land Management for Carbon Sequestration in West Africa

Bamako, Mali

February 26-27, 2004

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Why interest in carbon sequestration?

Development of carbon markets Increase in carbon stocks produces

many co-benefits—water, soil improvement, biodiversity, erosion control,….

Potential to increase adaptability and reduce vulnerability of countries

Changes in carbon on land are good indicators for monitoring performance of land-based projects

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Deforestation and degradation of lands

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Poor logging practices

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Degraded watersheds

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Carbon sequestration

Large potential to sequester carbon and through changes in land-use and forestry activities, such as:• Afforestation & reforestation of degraded lands

• Protect forests from degradation and deforestation—secondary and mature forests

• Changes in forest harvesting practices

• Changes in management of grazing lands

• Changes in management of agricultural lands

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Topics

Steps needed to assess potential for carbon sequestration activities in a region—Guinea as a case study (Exploration of Carbon Sequestration Potential in Guinean Forests)• Preparation of methodology for two classes of

carbon sequestration activities—need, cost, amount• How to design and implement measuring and

monitoring protocols for carbon sequestration activities

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Forest cover in Guinea

Download from FAO web site

•Most is secondary growth•44% of land as “other wooded land•Much of original forest land cleared•Produces about 650,000 m3 of industrial roundwood•Produces about 11 million m3 of fuelwood

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Assessing carbon sequestration potential

Baseline of existing land-use conditions Potential activities to enhance carbon

stocks determined by biophysical and socio-economic conditions

Potential quantities of carbon sequestered for different activities

Estimate costs for implementing activities Identify promising classes of activities

based on cost per ton of carbon, total quantity, risks, and co-benefits

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Protected areas of Guinea Study will focus on (total area about 144,000 ha):• five protected areas in the highland dry savanna region• five protected areas in the lowland semi-humid area

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Planned approach Baseline conditions: 

• Collect data for project sites including• Geographic location with GPS coordinates• Land use/land cover maps of areas• Recent past land-use practices and length of time under

practice • Baseline biophysical data including climatic zones, roads,

elevation, and land use/ land cover • Estimates of above and below-ground carbon for different

land-use practices

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Asses potential carbon sequestration

•Classify into lands where carbon stocks could be increased• Identify types of activities that could increase carbon stocks•For example………

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Which activity type—local needs and potential carbon

Soil

1-5 t C/ha.yr0.1-0.5 t C/ha.yr

Soil

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Estimates of carbon stocksEstimate potential changes in carbon stocks based on biophysical factors

CDIAC

Ecofloristic zones (FAO)

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Biomass carbon density of wooded lands in Guinea

Biomass density

Change in carbon

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Costs and benefits of carbon sequestration

Total costs assessed with economic data and local experience are:• Opportunity cost—based on productive value of land • Conversion costs—e.g. planting trees• Maintenance costs—weeding, tending to seedlings, etc.• Measuring and monitoring costs• Transaction costs—developing project concept, baselines

Risks—reversibility from natural and human factors Assessment of co-benefits—environmental and

potential socio-economic

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Design carbon measuring and monitoring plan

IPCC Good Practice Guidance report—Ch 4.3 on projects; accepted at COP9

Techniques and methods for measuring the state and change of carbon stocks exist, and are based on peer reviewed principles of forest inventory, soil sampling, and ecological surveys .

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Getting started- stratify project area with maps,remote sensing data, etc

•Reduces variability of the entire population

•Groups similar subgroups of vegetation

•Requires land use/land cover map

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Getting started –develop sampling design

•Identify what projectwill look like at end

•Establish preliminary plots in target areato estimate carbon stocks and their variation

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Getting started –develop sampling design

Use standard statistical tools to estimate number of plots needed to achieve desired level of precision at different cost per plot levels• recommend about +/-7-8% of mean with 95%

confidence for sampling error• other sources of error will add to this to give about

+/- 10% overall• experience shows number of plots on order of 30-

100, measurable at a modest cost

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Develop a M&M plan—which carbon pools to measure and monitor?

Selection of pools depends on:• Type and size of project

• Magnitude of pool

• Rate of change of pools

• Expected direction of change

• Cost to measure

• Attainable accuracy and precision

Example of a decision table to identify the carbon pools for measuring and monitoring

Project type Carbon pools

Live biomass Dead biomass Wood Trees Understory Roots Litter Wood Soil products Stop logging and protect Y M R M Y N Y Change forest management Y M R M Y N Y Restore native forests Y M R R Y R N Plantations for timber Y N R M M R Y Change crop rotation N N Y Y Y N Agroforestry Y Y R N N R M Y=yes, R=recommended, M=maybe, N=not recommended

-Selection of pools varies by project type-Different measuring and monitoring designs are needed for different types of projects

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Install measuring and monitoring plots in a standard design and locate with a GPS

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Estimating biomass of forests or woodland/savannas

Measure trees and convert to biomass carbon using standard methods

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Sampling forest understory and fine litter

Photo by Matt Delaney Photo by Matt Delaney

Photo by Matt Delaney

Repeat process for litter (dead leaves, twigs, grasses, small branches)

Use small frames

Cut all herbaceus vegetation

Collect sub-sample for moisture content

Mix well

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Sampling soils for organic carbon

Collect samples for bulk densityPhoto by Matt Delaney

Photo by Matt Delaney

Photo by André Ferreti

Collect 4 samples, mix well and sieve

Expose mineral soil surfaceDig to desired depth

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Need quality assurance and quality control plans that include……

Procedures to ensure reliable field measurements • Develop and use Standard Operating Procedures for each step of

the field measurements Procedures to verify field data collection

• To verify that plots have been installed and the measurements taken correctly

Procedures to verify data entry and analysis • Possible errors in this process can be minimised if the entry of

both field data and laboratory data are reviewed • Use standard methods and models to estimate changes in carbon

stocks Data maintenance and storage

• Data archiving is always important for verification and tracking of project performance

Training and capacity building in use of standard operating principles

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Conclusions Measuring and monitoring for carbon is useful for

assessing performance of natural resource-based projects and is often a good proxy for other environmental co-benefits

Many opportunities to increase carbon on the land through no-regrets actions

Largest potential for carbon sequestration activities for carbon finance is via activities that promote tree planting or restoration/conservation of forests

Practical tools and methods exists for assessing, measuring, and monitoring carbon sequestration at a modest cost; aboveground changes in carbon stocks readily measured at the least cost