Assessing Deadwood Using Harmonized National Forest Inventory Data
Author(s)
Date Issued
2012
Type
article
Abstract
Deadwood plays an important role in forest ecological processes and is fundamental for the
maintenance of biological diversity. Further, it is a forest carbon pool whose assessment must be reported for
international agreements dealing with protection and forest management sustainability. Despite wide agreement
on deadwood monitoring by national forest inventories (NFIs), much work is still necessary to clarify definitions
so that estimates can be directly compared or aggregated for international reporting. There is an urgent need for
an international consensus on definitions and agreement on harmonization methods. The study addresses two
main objectives: to analyze the feasibility of harmonization procedures for deadwood estimates and to evaluate
the impact of the harmonization process based on different definitions on final deadwood estimates. Results are
reported for an experimental harmonization test using NFI deadwood data from 9,208 sample plots measured in
nine European countries and the United States. Harmonization methods were investigated for volume by spatial
position (lying or standing), decay classes, and woody species accompanied by accuracy assessments. Estimates
of mean plot volume based on harmonized definitions with minimum length/height of 1 m and minimum
diameter thresholds of 10, 12, and 20 cm were on average 3, 8, and 30% smaller, respectively, than estimates
based on national definitions. Volume differences were less when estimated for various deadwood categories. An
accuracy assessment demonstrated that, on average, the harmonization procedures did not substantially alter
deadwood observations (root mean square error 23.17%).
Additional information
L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore www.safnet.org
Citation
Rondeux, J. et al. 2012. Assessing Deadwood Using Harmonized National Forest Inventory Data. "Forest Science" 58 (3): 269-283
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