Applying best practice in carbon accounting
Emissions of greenhouse gases can be offset by forest growth, which acts as a carbon sink. As such, Article 3.3 of the Kyoto Protocol calls on its signees to properly monitor changes in their carbon stocks owing to afforestation, reforestation and deforestation activities. Members of the Forest Ecosystem Research Group (FERG) of University College Dublin set about helping countries tackle this difficult task of carbon accounting. Participating in the CarboInvent project, FERG's scientists developed Ireland's first National Forest Inventory (NFI). FERG applied the methodology outlined in the report on Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (GPG-LULUCF) written by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change specifically for the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol. FERG painstakingly included trees with very small Diameter Breast Height (DBH) so as to overcome known inaccuracies deriving from young forests. Complete descriptions of forest plots were established addressing the five carbon categories: above- and below-ground biomass, soil organic carbon, deadwood and litter. Data from previous studies as well as aerial photography supplemented FERG's fieldwork. The end result was a tangible reduction in the level of uncertainty in the carbon estimates. The knowledge acquired by FERG during CarboInvent is a valuable resource not only to Ireland, but also to other countries with reporting requirements during the commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. Experience in the coordination and exploitation of a number of different data sources will be particularly useful. FERG continues its research efforts and plans to communicate its findings to the public via scientific journals.
