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FIA
The Nation’s
Forest Census
BIOMASS
and development of the
Component Ratio Method
or CRM
Forest Inventory and Analysis Program
FIA
What’s hot? Carbon and Climate!
The Nation’s
Forest Census
Land use/
Land cover
Climate
Change
Station
Range
and Urban
Forests and
Annual TPO
Biomass
and
Carbon
FIA
monitoring
engine
Forest Inventory and Analysis Program
FIA
The Nation’s
Forest Census
Biomass
Recent emphasis on the importance
of carbon monitoring has elevated
the need for consistent biomass
estimation for every national
inventory in the world.
FIA needed a compatible system for
biomass and volume estimation in
its national inventory database to
serve carbon as well as other clients
Forest Inventory and Analysis Program
FIA
Biomass estimation goals
The Nation’s
Forest Census

National consistency

Biomass-volume compatibility in our
national database

Realistic estimates of any component
for any selected area
Forest Inventory and Analysis Program
FIA
The Nation’s
Forest Census
Some perspective on 865 tree
species in the continental U.S.
Tree species
Top 12
Top 35
Top 100
Other 765
All Volume
50%
75%
96%
4%
..and, about 70% of aboveground
tree volume/biomass is in the bole
Forest Inventory and Analysis Program
FIA
A note about biomass research studies
The Nation’s
Forest Census
General tendency

All the boles are strong

All the trees are good looking

All the sites are above average
Forest Inventory and Analysis Program
FIA
The Nation’s
Forest Census
but we know…. biomass is variable
Select –
redaverage
oaks - average
VOLCFSND
by Latitude
Select red oaks
sound
bole volume
by latitude
80
Average VOLCFSND (sq ft)
Localized
study data
can often
be spread a
long, long
way…
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Diameter (inches)
Forest Inventory and Analysis Program
15
16
17
18
19
20
FIA
The Nation’s
Forest Census
Recent U.S. Research on biomass
Jenkins et. al complied a
massive set of information on
biomass estimation in the
United States.
This research included valuable
information on the
relationships of various tree
components such as boles,
tops, limbs, stumps, etc
Forest Inventory and Analysis Program
FIA
The Nation’s
Forest Census
FIA development of CRM




CRM is the Component Ratio Method for calculating
total biomass by tree component
CRM is a modified version of the commonly used
biomass expansion factor (BEF) approach
CRM relies on individual tree measurements to
estimate bole volume and missing and rotten material
CRM relies on published biomass studies to establish
relationships between tree boles and other tree and
site components
Forest Inventory and Analysis Program
Knowledge
FIA
The Nation’s
Forest Census
The FIA national inventory has
bole data on nearly 3 million trees
…and
Jenkins et al. has valuable data on
tree component ratios for dozens
of key species
Forest Inventory and Analysis Program
FIA
The Nation’s
Forest Census
Knowledge fusion
Use FIA data for tree bole
volume
Use Jenkins et al. research
for tree component ratios
relative to the bole
Forest Inventory and Analysis Program
FIA
The Nation’s
Forest Census
Outcome
Compatible estimates of
volume and biomass for
components at the tree
level for all trees in the
national database
Forest Inventory and Analysis Program
FIA
Comparisons of biomass by species,
region and method were analyzed
The Nation’s
Forest Census
Because
CRM is only
sound wood
it generally,
tracks
slightly
lower than
Jenkins et. al
Forest Inventory and Analysis Program
So what?
FIA
The Nation’s
Forest Census

CRM reflects sound biomass only since the characteristics of
rotten cull are not well known and, of course, missing
material has no biomass – a nasty shortcoming of simple dbhdriven models

CRM will better capture trends if rotten cull and missing
material levels are not constant under climate change
scenarios- which they likely will not be – consider Katrina
Forest Inventory and Analysis Program
FIA
A potential issue with simple biomass models
The Nation’s
Forest Census
A simple Dbh driven
biomass model
would yield higher
biomass after
Katrina due to
increased dbh…
but an incorrect
biomass due to
missing material…
Before Katrina
After Katrina
And …adding the down-woody estimate would double count the material.
Forest Inventory and Analysis Program
Bottom line
FIA
The Nation’s
Forest Census

80 years of FIA bole volume experience capitalized

Published tree component ratio experience capitalized

Every tree in database has compatible components

Cull and missing material trends can be accounted

You can perform analysis on the component of choice

You can spatially cookie cut the database reliably

You can recast older data for consistent trends
Forest Inventory and Analysis Program
To Date
FIA
Research Note NRS-38
The Nation’s
Specific Gravity and
Forest
Censusof
Other Properties

Wood and Bark for 156 Species of Trees Found in North
Wood and Bark for
156 Tree Species
Found in North
America
America
(updates Jenkins and adds more data on bark and species green
Patrick D. Miles and W. Brad
Smith
2008 FIA Symposium
(RMRS-P-56)
weights)

Investigation into
Calculating Tree
Biomass and Carbon
in the FIADB Using a
Biomass Expansion
Factor Approach
Linda S. Heath, Mark H.
Hansen, James E. Smith, W.
Brad Smith, and Patrick D.
Miles
Prepared paper Specific Gravity and Other Properties of
Prepared paper Investigation into Calculating Tree Biomass
and Carbon in the FIADB Using a Biomass Expansion Factor
Approach

Loaded the national database with new compatible
component data using the CRM-BEF approach
Forest Inventory and Analysis Program
FIA
The Nation’s
Forest Census
Future developments
• Improve component ratios by species
• Improve bole volume estimates based on taper
equations
• Improve non-tree carbon pool estimation
• Develop national biomass/carbon accounting
system
Forest Inventory and Analysis Program
FINAL NOTE: Is it clear what you are measuring?
This modified diagram from
Harold Young’s work should
be a mandatory addition to
any future biomass research
Ref
1
2
3
4a
4b
5
6
7a
7b
8
Description
Small roots
Medium roots
Large roots
Stump above ground level
Stump below ground
Bole to a 4" top (10cm)
Large branches
Small branches
Leaves or needles
Central stem above 4" top