Project name: Carbon sink assessment in dead organic matter and average wood stock assessment in maquis, shrubbery and first age class stands in Croatian forests
Client: Croatian Agency for the Environment and Nature
Period: 07/2015 – ongoing
Funding: Government funded
Location: Croatia, entire territory
The overall goal of the project is an improvement of the data acquisition and exchange as well as methodology development for their analysis according to Guidelines from United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, (UNFCCC) and Kyoto Protocol defined by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, (IPCC). Precisely, updating data on state and areas of specific forest categories (maquis, shrubbery and first age class stands) regarding average wood stock and carbon sink assessment of those forests types alongside with carbon pool assessment for dead organic matter in those forests for the whole territory of Croatia.
Due to lack of this data in Croatia, it is essential to execute extensive nation-wide field and laboratory analysis, as well as statistical analysis to create needed regression models.
Data collection and analysis is performed in order to obtain data needed for AFOLU (LULUCF) sector calculations according to 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.
Services provided:
- Data gathering needed for project implementation, analysis and spatial distribution of the sampling points with creation of the Protocol for field sampling
- Field sampling on the selected locations (200) across Croatia in named forest types: tree species, height, DBH, yield sampling, noting of felling, social status, tree health and sample collection from soil’s organic part, litter, dead and living organic matter for laboratory analysis
- Multispectral images (satellite and avio) collection and processing as well as statistical analysis of the vegetation indices (NDVI, EVI, LAI, SAVI, etc) and single multispectral bands for 800 selected locations in above stated forests across Croatia in order to create wanted regression models.
- Development of the regression models for wood stock assessment for maquis as well for shrubbery in Mediterranean region based on a multispectral and IR images
- Development of the regression models for wood stock assessment for first age class stands in management classes of the Sessile oak, Common beech, Pedunculate oak and European ash in continental region based on a multispectral and IR images
- Analysis of the changes within designated time frame based on created above defined regression models
- Development of the regression models for assessment of the amount of dead organic matter in selected forest types
- Development of the regression models for assessment of the carbon amount regarding deterioration level of the dead organic matter in selected forest types
- Development of the regression models for dry matter/carbon ratio for the Mediterranean tree species;
- Development of the regression models for dry matter/carbon ratio in litter
- Development of the regression models for dry matter/carbon ratio in organic part of the soil
- Development of the regression models for assessment of the felled wood
- Development of the GIS database with collected data
