Developing historically-consistent and broadly-applicable monitoring, reporting, and verification system for quantifying forest change

Project Leader: 
Research Partners: 
Dr. Christopher Woodall (USFS Northern Research Station); Dr. Grant Domke (USFS Northern Research Station); Dr. Matthew Russell (University of Minnesota)
Status: 
Ongoing
Science Themes: 
Climate impacts on land-use and land-cover change
Decision frameworks for evaluating risk and managing natural resources under climate change

Given the increasing impacts of climate change and natural disturbances on forest ecosystems across the US, there is a need for monitoring systems that allow for accurate and rapid detection of historic and future changes in forest area and carbon stocks. This collaborative project between UMN, USFS, and NASA is piloting a Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) accounting system that could be used within the context of the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory baseline reporting to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. To accomplish this, baseline biomass density and historic data about forest change derived from Landsat and LIDAR information are being combined with USFS Forest Inventory and Analysis monitoring system to provide annual estimates of forest C stock and stock change from 1990 to present for several regions of the US. Products include maps and data layers depicting forest change over broad geographic areas and a MRV accounting system for assessing forest area and carbon density.

Publications: 
Presentations: 
  • Ma, W., G. Domke, C.Woodall, and A.W. D'Amato.  Comprehensive effects of land use change and disturbances on forest aboveground biomass dynamics in the northern USA. 2018. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Washington, D.C.  December 11, 2018.
  • D'Amato, A.W. 2018. A lesson in severe, episodic forest disturbances: The 1938 hurricane and long-term dead wood legacies.  New England Society of American Foresters Winter Meeting. Nashua, NH. 2018
  • M. Russell, G. Domke, C. Woodall, A. D’Amato. Incorporating climate into belowground carbon estimates in the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory. 2015 Forest Inventory and Analysis Symposium. Portland, OR. December 8-10, 2015.
  • Woodall, C.W., Walters, B.F., Coulston, J.W., D’Amato, A.W., Domke, G.M., Russell, M.B., Sowers, P.A.  2015.  Recent land use change is a substantial component of the forest carbon sink in the eastern United States.  100th Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting.  August 9-14, 2015.  Baltimore, MD. 
  • Woodall, C.W., Walters, B.F., Coulston, J.W., D’Amato, A.W., Domke, G.M., Russell, M., Sowers, P.  2015.  Forest carbon stocks and stock changes across classes of land use and land use change in the eastern US.  95th Winter Meeting of the New England Society of American Foresters.  Fairlee, VT.  March 24-27, 2015. 
  • Woodall, C.W., Walters, B.F., Coulston, J.W., D’Amato, A.W., Domke, G.M., Russell, M., Sowers, P.  2015.  Recent land use change is a substantial component of the forest carbon sink in the eastern US.  95th Winter Meeting of the New England Society of American Foresters.  Fairlee, VT.  March 24-27, 2015.  
  • Woodall, C.W., Walters, B.F., Coulston, J.W., D’Amato, A.W., Domke, G.M., Russell, M., Sowers, P.  2015.  Forest carbon stocks and stock changes across classes of land use and land use change in the eastern US.  5th North American Carbon Program Principal Investigators Meeting.  Jan. 26-29, 2015.  Washington, DC.
  • Russell, M.B., G.M. Domke, C.W. Woodall, A.W. D’Amato. Incorporating climate in the US National Greenhouse  Gas Inventory to quantify belowground forest C stocks. 5th North American Carbon Program Principal Investigators Meeting, Washington, DC. Jan. 26-29, 2015. 
  • Woodall, C.W., Walters, B.F., Coulston, J.W., D’Amato, A.W., Domke, G.M., Russell, M., Sowers, P. Forest carbon stocks and stock changes across classes of land use and land use change in the eastern US.  5th North American Carbon Program Principal Investigators Meeting, Washington, DC.  Jan. 26-29, 2015.
  • Woodall, C.W., Domke, G.M., Smith, J.E., Coulston, J., Healey, S.P., Perry, C.H., Gray, A., Russell, M., D’Amato, A.W., Ogle, S., Swan, A. Reducing uncertainty and increasing consistency: Recent technical improvements to the 2015 United States forest carbon inventory.  American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA. Dec. 15-19, 2014.
  • Russell, M.B., Woodall, C.W., D’Amato, A.W., Fraver, S., Walters, B.F. Domke, G.M., Skog, K.E. The half-life and residency of coarse woody debris biomass/carbon in eastern US forests.  Presentation at The 4th North American Carbon Program All-Investigators Meeting, Albuquerque, NM. February 4-7, 2013.
  • M. Russell, C. W. Woodall, D’Amato, A.W., and S. Fraver. Residence time and decay rates of downed woody debris across eastern US forests. Presentation at 2nd IUFRO Conference on Complex Forest Ecosystems: Tree to Landscape, New Orleans, LA.  October 7, 2013.
Engagement: