Unknown

Dataset Information

0

Estimating aboveground net biomass change for tropical and subtropical forests: Refinement of IPCC default rates using forest plot data.


ABSTRACT: As countries advance in greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting for climate change mitigation, consistent estimates of aboveground net biomass change (?AGB) are needed. Countries with limited forest monitoring capabilities in the tropics and subtropics rely on IPCC 2006 default ?AGB rates, which are values per ecological zone, per continent. Similarly, research into forest biomass change at a large scale also makes use of these rates. IPCC 2006 default rates come from a handful of studies, provide no uncertainty indications and do not distinguish between older secondary forests and old-growth forests. As part of the 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, we incorporate ?AGB data available from 2006 onwards, comprising 176 chronosequences in secondary forests and 536 permanent plots in old-growth and managed/logged forests located in 42 countries in Africa, North and South America and Asia. We generated ?AGB rate estimates for younger secondary forests (?20 years), older secondary forests (>20 years and up to 100 years) and old-growth forests, and accounted for uncertainties in our estimates. In tropical rainforests, for which data availability was the highest, our ?AGB rate estimates ranged from 3.4 (Asia) to 7.6 (Africa) Mg ha-1  year-1 in younger secondary forests, from 2.3 (North and South America) to 3.5 (Africa) Mg ha-1  year-1 in older secondary forests, and 0.7 (Asia) to 1.3 (Africa) Mg ha-1  year-1 in old-growth forests. We provide a rigorous and traceable refinement of the IPCC 2006 default rates in tropical and subtropical ecological zones, and identify which areas require more research on ?AGB. In this respect, this study should be considered as an important step towards quantifying the role of tropical and subtropical forests as carbon sinks with higher accuracy; our new rates can be used for large-scale GHG accounting by governmental bodies, nongovernmental organizations and in scientific research.

SUBMITTER: Requena Suarez D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6852081 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

altmetric image

Publications

Estimating aboveground net biomass change for tropical and subtropical forests: Refinement of IPCC default rates using forest plot data.

Requena Suarez Daniela D   Rozendaal Danaë M A DMA   De Sy Veronique V   Phillips Oliver L OL   Alvarez-Dávila Esteban E   Anderson-Teixeira Kristina K   Araujo-Murakami Alejandro A   Arroyo Luzmila L   Baker Timothy R TR   Bongers Frans F   Brienen Roel J W RJW   Carter Sarah S   Cook-Patton Susan C SC   Feldpausch Ted R TR   Griscom Bronson W BW   Harris Nancy N   Hérault Bruno B   Honorio Coronado Eurídice N EN   Leavitt Sara M SM   Lewis Simon L SL   Marimon Beatriz S BS   Monteagudo Mendoza Abel A   Kassi N'dja Justin J   N'Guessan Anny Estelle AE   Poorter Lourens L   Qie Lan L   Rutishauser Ervan E   Sist Plinio P   Sonké Bonaventure B   Sullivan Martin J P MJP   Vilanova Emilio E   Wang Maria M H MMH   Martius Christopher C   Herold Martin M  

Global change biology 20190816 11


As countries advance in greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting for climate change mitigation, consistent estimates of aboveground net biomass change (∆AGB) are needed. Countries with limited forest monitoring capabilities in the tropics and subtropics rely on IPCC 2006 default ∆AGB rates, which are values per ecological zone, per continent. Similarly, research into forest biomass change at a large scale also makes use of these rates. IPCC 2006 default rates come from a handful of studies, provide no un  ...[more]

Similar Datasets

| S-EPMC4422854 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC6527854 | biostudies-other
| S-EPMC10995191 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC7392681 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC10051130 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC7261387 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC10665531 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC10110524 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC10290661 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC3179639 | biostudies-other