Carbon Sequestration in Tree Plantations
Several in-house reports and hundreds of site carbon (C) simulations have been produced for Carbon Neutral Ltd; a WA-based voluntary CO2 offsets company.
Forecast estimates of C-sequestration are conducted using software such as the National Carbon Accounting System FullCAM and Farm Forestry Toolbox.
Accurate estimation of C-sequestration in tree plantings entails:
- Mapping of the planted areas or known age into strata according to tree vigour.
- Measurement of tree stem volumes by diameter and height in random plots along transects within each class.
- Determination of wood density for each species measured.
- Extrapolation of plot stem volume results to whole plantation area.
- Simulation of plantation growth and on-site C sequestration over time using tree growth software programs. These programs have tree growth rate, event, soil and location parameters that can be varied according to site conditions.
- Calibration of the simulation to correlate with the stem volume data measured in the field.