Abstract
Until recently, standing dead tree biomass and carbon (C) has been estimated as a function of live tree growing stock volume in the U.S. Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program. Traditional estimates of standing dead tree biomass/C attributes were based on merchantability standards that did not reflect density reductions or structural loss due to decomposition common in standing dead trees. In 1999, the FIA program began consistent nationwide sampling of standing dead trees. That data may now be used to supplant previous approaches to standing dead biomass and C stock estimation. The objective of this study was to incorporate density reductions and structural loss adjustments into standing dead tree biomass/C estimation procedures and assess differences in estimates at multiple spatial scales. The results suggest that accounting for density reductions and structural loss in standing dead trees substantially decreases estimates of standing dead tree biomass and C at tree, plot, and regional scales. Incorporating density reductions and structural loss adjustments may improve the accuracy of standing dead tree biomass and C estimates in the U.S. forest inventory as well as the consistency with FIA field methods and documentation.
Parent Publication
Keywords
statistics,
estimation,
sampling,
modeling,
remote sensing,
forest health,
data integrity,
environmental monitoring,
cover estimation,
international forest monitoring
Citation
Domke, Grant M.; Woodall, Christopher W.; Smith, James E. 2012. Recent changes in the estimation of standing dead tree biomass and carbon stocks in the U.S. forest inventory. In: Morin, Randall S.; Liknes, Greg C., comps. Moving from status to trends: Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) symposium 2012; 2012 December 4-6; Baltimore, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-105. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. [CD-ROM]: 164-169.
