79 research outputs found
Projecting native forest inventory estimates from public to private tenures.
No full textInventory information on privately managed forest areas tends to be more variable and less available than for equivalent publicly managed forests. This paper reports on an examination of the timber volume on Tasmanian private and public native forests and demonstrates that the differences between tenures in terms of total (entire stem) volume (m3 ha-1) are significant but relatively small. The paper also demonstrates that information from public forest inventories may be used to generate auxiliary information that can improve the efficiency of sampling on equivalent private forests. Regression and variable probability sampling using auxiliary information generated from public forest inventories can reduce the need for establishing sample points in private forests to only 25% of that required under simple random sampling for a given level of precision
Inventory systems in Australia using remotely sensed date to improve precision and scale of estimation
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National forest inventories and biodiversity monitoring in Australia
No full textForests currently cover over 20% of the Australian continent and are an important resource, subject to a wide range of economic and environmental pressures. These lands support substantial numbers of forest-dependent species with national forest inventories providing important information on biodiversity. National scale information on these forests has been collected or collated since 1988 under the National Forest Inventory (NFI) programme, but substantial problems with the 'snap shot' approach have been recognized, particularly with respect to monitoring change and a consequent move towards a permanent and sample-based continental forest monitoring framework (CFMF) has been proposed. CFMF is proposed to consist of three Tiers: (1) satellite imagery of the continent to identify forest and change in forest cover; (2) systematic high-resolution remotely sensed data and (3) permanent ground points at 20 × 20 km grid interception points. The CFMF approach is in line with the international trend of national forest inventories in developed countries although the Tier 2 approach offers a useful extension. An alternative inventory approach is provided by the National Carbon Accounting System (NCAS) which models the mass of carbon and nitrogen in seven separate living and dead biomass pools for any point under forest or agriculture land use since 1970. The NCAS approach allows fine spatial and temporal monitoring of changes in these carbon and nitrogen biomass pools, and predictions of changes that result from policy or management decisions. This paper briefly reviews NFI, NCAS and the proposed CFMF, with particular emphasis on issues of use and potential for monitoring biodiversity in this biologically very diverse country
Environmental amenity and habitat values of an urban forest: how to determine and manage for them in Canberra
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Carbon accounting model for forests in Australia.
No full textCAMFor (Carbon Accounting Model for Forests) is a sophisticated spreadsheet model developed to assist in carbon accounting and projection. This model can integrate information from a range of alternate sources including user input, default parameters an
A continental biomass stock and stock exchange estimation approach for Australia.
No full textTo implement Australia's National Carbon Accounting System it is necessary to estimate biomass stock, continentally, and change in stock, at a sub-hectare spatial resolution. The approach developed to meet this requirement is a hybrid between GIS-based process modelling and empiricism. Multi-temporal mapping of productivity was carried out using a variant of the 3PG (physiological principles predicting growth) model. Relationships were found between mapped productivity indices and measurements of biomass at maturity (i.e. long-term-undisturbed stands). This information was then used to interpolate maps of biomass potential. Simple growth formulae were used to plot biomass accumulation, with the 'rate of approach to mature biomass' set by the age at which maximum current annual increment occurs and the predicted site plant productivity over time. The age of the forest stand was determined from disturbance events detected by twelve national coverages of Landsat MSS, TM and ETM+ remotely-sensed data collected between 1972 and 2002. Responses to thinning of existing forests are calculated using an adjustment of stand age concurrent with the intensity of the thinning event
Changes in public requests to remove significant urban trees after severe bushfires in Canberra, Australia
No full textTrees on leased land provide an important contribution to Canberra's urban forest and consequently the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government introduced legislation to protect urban trees on leased land from unwarranted removal under the Tree Protection (Interim Scheme) Act 2001. This tree protection legislation applies to significant trees, classified using size-based criteria, on leased land for urban and other non-rural purposes. Responsibility resides with the ACT Government to preserve and protect significant trees on leased land in Canberra, until such time as removal is warranted and prudent. On Saturday 18 January 2003, 2 years after the introduction of the tree protection legislation, Canberra experienced a state of emergency when major bushfires swept through the bush-urban interface and penetrated into the western urban area subsequently destroying or damaging over 500 houses. There was a substantial increase in requests lodged under the Act immediately after the fires, but by February 2004 the number of requests returned to February 2002 levels which suggests leaseholder response to the fire declines relatively quickly. The percentage of requests approved (88%) remained relatively constant which indicates that the increased number of applications were for reasons that were considered valid under the Act although it is unlikely that these concerns only became valid during the month proceeding the fire. Dominant genera removed each February from 2002 to 2004 were similar; however, Eucalyptus species have shown a small but significant relative increase although there are insufficient data to conclude this increase indicates an increased aversion to this genus. Future management needs to consider the community perception of trees and temporal reaction to major events
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