BRS SEMINAR SERIES PRESENTS:
Friday 25 August
Commercial Environmental Forestry: Tools for targeting, assessment, monitoring and accounting of the commercial and
environmental benefits of forest plantations Charlie Hawkins — Ensis Brendan Moran — DAFF& Adam Gerrand — BRS
The Ensis and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry have recently completed the three year Commercial Environmental Forestry programme. This project has developed several tools to enable planners at catchment and farm scale to understand and predict outcomes associated with establishment of plantations and other forms of revegetation. Ensis has developed the Scenario Planning and Investment Framework tool which will help to maximise the impact and efficiency of commonwealth investment on the environment by targeting whereto focus investment and measure the expected environmental and economic outcomes. The tool was recently launched by Senator Eric Abetz and has been gaining increasing interest as an accounting tool for environmental and economic flows.
Communicating where to plant trees for salinity benefits using the
"Plantations Information Network"
Science for decision makers
Adam Gerrand
based on work of Stuart Davey, Ian Frakes, Peter Baker and Ian Mullen
www.brs.gov.au
Outline of talk• BRS role in the CEF project• Outline approach taken• Better ways to communicate
complex data• Plantation Information Network
website• Added functions for CEF data
– show some examples• Conclusions
www.brs.gov.au
BRS role in CEF work• BRS was asked to identify regions nationally where
plantations or farm forestry could provide both salinity benefits and commercial forestry outcomes
– Using existing data nationally and regionally where easily accessible
• Key conclusions from BRS work • Need to draw it together (report) and • Important to communicate results and make them
easily accessible – we used the PIN website
www.brs.gov.au
Study approachbased on work by van Dijk et al (2004)
Commercial Environmental Forestry target areas located in:
• low rainfall zones between 500-800mm/year,• high salinity potential, local groundwater flow
systems, avoiding nearby sub catchments yielding relatively fresher water,
• areas previously cleared for agriculture & with forest growth rates greater than 9 m3/ha/yr
• areas with existing plantations and wood using industries.
600 - 700mm700 – 800mm800 – 900mm
Local GFSIntermediate GFS
Rainfall zones
National potential salinity hazard
Rainfall band500 – 800mm/yr
Potential SalinityHazard - MDBC
Plantation CapabilityTAS, NSW &
Partial VIC & QLD (MAI)
CRES sub-catchment
Stream Salinitysub-catchmentDryland Salinity
NationalSalt hazard potential
National Runoff (Zhang equations)
Catchment Management Authority
BoundariesNAP NHT Boundaries
MDBC potentialsalt hazard
Candidate CEF areas Candidate CEF areas
Rule flowchart to identify areas with potential for CEF plantations
www.brs.gov.auMDB detailed potential salinity hazard
National potential salinity hazard
+ forest productivity
MDB CMA catchments
9-10 10-12 12-14
14-24
Tree growth rate m3/ha/yr
localintermediate
MDB groundwater flow system
• Computer (GIS) overlay of spatial data• Eg MDB catchments + groundwater flow type
+ forest growth + salinity hazard
Central NSW composite potential salinity hazard
Existing plantations
Complex overlays of many data sets
Identified CEF potential“Target areas” hatchedCentral NSW
Highlight potential target areas
www.brs.gov.au
•BUT•Static maps – cant be changed•Cant zoom or move•Complex overlays of multiple data sets•Often hides things•Users have no control over what is displayed•Users often want simpler picture first, then build complexity
Typical paper maps produced for hard copy report- Show all info and identify areas with CEF potential
www.brs.gov.au
Solution = web-based mapping can help
Web mapping improvements– Putting mapping power in the hands
(PC) of the end user – easy and fast– reduces BRS map requests– Increases user satisfaction – Many remote users in regional Aust.– Can make basic maps from their
desktop– To include in their own reports
PIN http://www.brs.gov.au/plantations/
PIN home page
What can the PIN do?
• In a few mouse-clicks, users can create their own maps
www.brs.gov.au
Easily choose regions and layers to display
www.brs.gov.au
• Include 4 new data layers for CEF– Stream salinity index– National forest growth
productivity layer (MAI)– Areas with high salinity,
+local/intermed. groundwater flow, +reasonable tree growth
= broad CEF Target areas
Stream Salinity Index – State view
Stream Salinity Index – Regional catchment view
Stream Salinity Index – regional view+ hide existing forest
Coarse national plantation growth potential, regional view
www.brs.gov.au
Finer detail plantation growth potential for Radiata pine
www.brs.gov.au
Display just the target areas with potential for CEF
www.brs.gov.au
Conclusions of BRS Commercial Environmental Forestry study
• Significant potential for CEF projects in Australian regions,• Need for more reliable growth information and regional
plantation capability assessments,• Need to investigate species selection and species growth
rates in dry environments below 650mm/yr.• Need to make information easily accessible to users
– delivery via internet www.brs.gov.au/plantations• Requires detailed analysis tools for local investment decisions,
– CSIRO SPIF (Charlie will present next)
www.brs.gov.au
Conclusions from web delivery• Websites like Plantation Information Network help make complex
information – more accessible – into the hands (or PC’s) of end users– efficient and effective for users and BRS
• Improved level of service – both quantity and timeliness • Lessons learned
– Good product is not enough - promotion / advertising is vital• Future opportunities - include other BRS & CSIRO info
– eg climate / rainfall, socio-economic?– CEF detailed work from SPIF or other products?
Hands up if you have used Google Earth?Future data delivery?
www.brs.gov.au
For further information• National Plantation Inventory
http://www.brs.gov.au/nfi/
• Plantation Information Networkhttp://www.brs.gov.au/plantations
• E-mail [email protected]
Commercial Environmental Forestry and
The Scenario Planning and Investment
Framework (SPIF) Tool
THE JOINT FORCES OF CSIRO & SCION
• Help integrate trees into landscapes to achieve multiple environmental and commercial positive outcomes
• Reduce the risks for various investors including NHT, Catchment Management Authorities, Plantation Companies and Landholders.
• Increase the certainty that desired environmental outcomes will be achieved through:– Development of prediction models
and planning tools, that are• Informed by robust
research.
Objectives
The SPIF tool overviewForest types• Commercial plantations• Environmental plantings
Predicts• Growth• Carbon sequestration• Salinity reduction• Water yield impact• Biodiversity• Economics
Applications• Target where to plant• Assess on-ground proposals
Case study• South-west Goulburn Broken
catchment
EnvironmentalCommercial
Services
Products
Scale• Regional• Farm/ paddock
• Geographical Information System. Looks at variation in growth and landuse change impacts across the landscape.
• Summarises complex prediction modelling outputs into planning functions of targeting where to grow what species for what measurable outcome.
• Provides a means of mapping and reporting information to planners and investors in forestry.
The SPIF tool overview
The SPIF tool compares spatial data layers derived from prediction models:
• 3-PG+ (growth carbon sequestration)• BC2C (salinity and water use)• SEDNET (sediment/erosion)• Transport Cost-Distance• Biodiversity connectivity• Conservation buffer
The SPIF tool GIS layers
The SPIF tool ‘drills down’though spatial layers produced from other models.
Growth Prediction of Commercial & Environmental Species
i/ Data collection 300+ sites ii/ Modelling iii/ Prediction iv/ Mapping
Salinity and Water Recharge Impact: BC2C
Biophysical Capacity 2 Change model can identify areas where land use change has the greatest impact on streamsalinity and least impact on water recharge
Economic costings – Transport model
Sediment Slope
Target areas < 15 degrees (t/ha/yr)
Reduction in erosion with new forest establishment
Exclude areas within 20 metres of streams & 500 metres from high conservation remnants (red)
Biodiversity
Generate a Plantation Biodiversity Score based on distance to wooded vegetation and site management techniques.
Economics User can enter their own economic information and compare returns from different scenarios.
Define scenario map display characteristics
Define Area of Interest
Filter search based on growth & environmental variables.
e.g. “Only find areas with high growth and maximum salt impact”
Targeting SetupSelect type of forest and management
Factor in biodiversity?
Regional Targeting – Growth and Filters
Growth C maculata with FiltersGrowth C maculata no Filters
Region Search Report
Summary statistics for region-wide re-afforestation.
Farm-scaletargeting
or assessment
Data at hectare scale shows variation in growth potential. Green areas have deeper soils.
Red areas in shallow granitic porous soils with less available soil moisture for growth.
Plan 1. Assessment
Plan 1. Environmental outcomes
Plan 1. Economic costings
Plan 1. Biodiversity: Landscape Connectivity
Proximity to remnant veg and other plantations provides higher score out of 15.
Plan 1. Plantation Biodiversity Score
• PBS used ONLY for commercial/ harvest plantations.
• Score incorporates landscape (x/15) and local site management (x/75)
• Each polygon or plantation proposal will get a score /100
Plan 2. – Shelter Belt Assessment
Dark Green = Biodiversity BufferLt. Green = Vegetation (connectivity)
1
2
Plan 3. – Alternative AreaHigh Positive Environmental Impact with less growth
Report and Benefits Profile
$2230
25.2
-1.42
-1.40
4.9
11.0
Per ha
63
$119,714
344
-55
6.55
260
623
36
Total
$3,066
9.54
-1.50
0.18
6.7
16.1
Per ha
58
$153,322
477
-75
8.97
333
804
50
Total
62
$78,083
882
-50.0
-49.0
171
384
35
Total
Area Planted
$3,325NPV ($/ha)
BIODIVERSITY (/100)
ECONOMICS
9.54Sediment (t/ha/yr)
-1.52Water (ML/ha/yr)
0.18Salinity (EC x 10-6)
7.2Carbon (t/ha/yr)
17.3Growth (m³/ha/yr)
Per haENVIRONMENTAL
Plan 1. Plan 2. Plan 3.
Environmental Plantings Assessment
Environ 1 12
Environ 2
Next Steps
Research• Improve understanding of water use of different forest types and plantation expansion.
• Climate change impacts on evapotranspiration of native forests
Implementation• Proposals in for CEF projects in WA and Victoria.• Integrate SPIF maps into BRS web-based PIN• Integrate SPIF functions in Vic DPI Catchment Tool and Vic Dept Sustainability and Environements’ “eFarmer”
Extension• Workshops already held in WA and Victoria. More in NSW, QLD and NZ planned.