A Ground-Up View of Measuring Tropical Forest BIOMASS

Transcription

1 A Ground-Up View of Measuring Tropical Forest BIOMASS Oliver Phillips with contributions from Jerome Chave and Simon Lewis First BIOMASS Science Workshop European Space Agency, Frascati January, 2015

2 BIOMASS ground work has to be pan-tropical 63% of forest carbon is in intact tropical forests. The most diverse, complex ecosystems on Earth, so we need to measure across the domain to understand present-day variation

3 The satellite challenge RS does not measure biomass; it measures structural features which need to be related to AGB locally (calibration) Assessing uncertainty in these relationships requires validation Structure / AGB relationships vary across environmental gradients hence cal/val is datahungry

4 How can ground data help for calibration and validation? ground data are also estimates, but they are independent, being based on individual organisms (trees), not canopy structural features requires (1) matching to RS in time, (2) accurate tree dimensions, and (3) accurate species identification

5 1. Synchronising measurements with BIOMASS Biomass mortality is non-constant Amazon drought Amazon drought Pan-Amazon plot biomass dynamics, Brienen et al. (in press) Nature

6 2. Accurate Dimensions: Foresters skills

7 Allpahuayo, Peru 3. Accurate Identification: Botanists skills

8 Species matter 20% of global forest biomass (Pan et al. 2011, Science) comprised of 16,000 tree species (ter Steege et al. 2013, Science), invisible from space Leaf Area Index, Robert Simmon, MODIS data (NASA)

9 species impact on AGB at the tree-scale Species D (cm) H (m) Ρ (g/cm 3 ) AGB (t, dry mass) Apuleia leiocarpa Cavanillesia umbellata Whole trees measured directly - cut, dried, weighed: Dipteryx micrantha Whole trees measured directly - cut, dried, weighed R. C. Goodman, O. L. Phillips, T. R. Baker, 2012, Nature 491: 527

10 The heaviest tropical tree! Dipteryx micrantha, AGB = 76 t

11 Species are also critical for AGB at the landscape-scale Madre de Dios, SE Peru 5 km Pleistocene alluvium: g cm -3, basal-area weighted community wood density (n=8 plots) Holocene alluvium: g cm -3, basal-area weighted community wood density (n=12 plots)

12 Species are also critical for AGB at the continental-scale Systematic national resource inventories across Amazonia (e.g., RADAM-Brasil, minimum diameter 30cm

13 Species are critical for AGB at the continental-scale (a) floristic gradients (axis 1); (b) (axis 2) (c) community-weighted seed mass (d) community-weighted wood density (e) ectomychorrhizal genera, fraction; (f) Fabaceae, fraction H. Ter Steege et al. 2006, Nature 443:

14 Forests are more than BIOMASS Identity is closely related to other key ecosystem functions Tree species compositional gradient (axis 1) Tree population turnover rates (from 1 to 3% yr -1 ) Many trees die standing Most trees die broken and fallen Ter Steege et al. 2006, Nature Quesada et al. 2012, Biogeosciences

15 Key challenges for ground data quality 1. Technical challenges: 1.1 Timing 1.2 Accuracy: tree measured above buttress; point of measurement noted, and painted; height measured by trained operators 1.3 Species Identity 2. Human challenges Replicability & accountability (e.g., peer review) Pan-tropical teamwork and standards Training Sharing

16 Pan-tropical teamwork (standardised protocols: many people, plots, institutions) RAINFOR (Red Amazonica de Inventarios Forestales), 500 biomass & dynamics plots AfriTRON (African Tropical Forest Observation Network) >250 biomass plots CTFS-ForestGEO, 61 large dynamics plots, ca. 30 tropical

17 RAINFOR: Partners

18 RAINFOR: Campaigns Guyana Perú Carbonera Clarines Barinas Pto Nare 2009, , ,12 Rio Grande 2010 Caparo Amargal 2004,9,12 Mabura Hills 2009,12 El Dorado ,10, ,9,12 Pibiri Nouragues Pto Ayacucho 2012, ,10, Iwokrama Araracuara ,12 Bogi 2002,7,10,11 San Carlos de Rio Negro Tiputini 2002,7,10,11 Jari 2003 Branganca Lorena 2004,6, ,6,11 Jatun Sacha 2002,7,10,11 Zafire Tapajos 2003 Mocambo 2005,6,8,9 Manaus Caxiuana 2003 IQUITOS 2001,5,6,8,9,10,11 Agua Pudre 2002,5,6,10, ,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, ,5,6,11 Jenaro Herrera 2005,6,7,8,11 Alta Floresta 2002,8,11,13 Jurua Santana do Araguaia 2011,13 Acre Catauba 2011 Pasco 2008,10, ,9, ,9 Dois Irmaos Sinop 2002,13 Porongaba Tanguro 2009,10, ,6,9,11,13 Los Amigos 2008 Cusco 2003,6,9,11 Amazonico BEEM Sacta Nova Xavantina 2008,10,11, ,6,8 2006,10 ANDES Transect 2003,6,7,8,9, ,9 Noel Kempff 2001,6,7,9,11 TAMBOPATA 2002,3,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 Guiana Francaise Brasil 150 campaigns, always with some training

19 Cyberinfrastructure to cope with complex tree data, and the trust to share them uniting 740 researchers from 31 nations > 2,000,000 measures 11,500 species 1,700 plots the first in 1939 Participating networks include RAINFOR, AfriTRON, GEM, T- Forces, TROBIT, ECOFOR, PPBio Data can be shared or private: the investigator decides

20 In sum, ground data for BIOMASS requires: massive replication synchronous timing quality measurements species identity people

21 What now? Scientific Networks already do most of this, but need: Así * Plot expansion to >4 ha * New plots in degraded forest * Complementary measurements (e.g. ground LiDAR) * Funding from 2019

22 How much? Hay un incremento en la biomasa de bosques primarios Tropical partners of this effort must be valued as full partners. This includes being adequately trained, equipped, insured, and paid.

23 How much? Hay un incremento en la biomasa de bosques primarios Tropical partners of this effort must be valued as full partners. This includes being adequately trained, equipped, insured, and paid. Costs in remote, high-diversity, high-biomass tropical forests: 15,000 per ha: Botanical id, herbarium vouchers, height, permanent plots, peer-reviewed verified data & outputs, proper training, tight quality control, global co-ordination. If a central 1 ha is expanded to include surrounding 3 ha of trees >30 cm d: 30,000 per plot. Thus, if 200 plots per tropical continent for calibration and validation, expanded to 4-ha: 600 plots = 18M. Plus allometric work.

24 Estimated cost of pan-tropical calibration and validation: 4 % of BIOMASS mission