• About
  • Our Work
  • Join
  • Partner
  • Media
EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER

Sign-up for monthly updates on Winrock's work around the world.

WINROCK VOICES

How Do You Measure Carbon in a Forest?

For Winrock’s Ecosystem Services Team it required tape measures, GPS devices, first-aid kits and countless weeks in Guyana’s wilderness.

Posted on January 19, 2017

By Chris Warren

As part of its Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) agreement with Norway, Guyana had to estimate the carbon contained in its expansive forests. Though a lot of rigorous analysis went into developing the best way to do this — a process Winrock spearheaded — getting it right ultimately required sending teams from the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) armed with tape measures, clipboards and GPS devices out into the forest to measure trees.

Why? For one, you can’t simply hold up a monitor to a tree trunk and take carbon readings. Instead, it’s necessary to estimate forest carbon based on a tree’s biomass. Let’s unpack that a bit. Trees draw carbon from the atmosphere through the photosynthesis process that all plants use for food and to grow. That carbon is then locked into the tree as wood, or biomass. When forests are cleared for mining or agriculture, carbon is released back into the atmosphere (though preventing that from happening is what the Guyana-Norway deal was all about).

Winrock worked with the GFC to develop a handbook and train field staff to collect data that could then be used to estimate Guyana’s forest carbon stocks. It’s an approach and method that is both efficient and cost-effective given the enormity of Guyana’s forests and the lack of existing data. And it has become an important example of a practical approach for countries participating in REDD+ that are starting off with little data.  Some of the essential steps include:

  • Selecting plots to measure: It would be nice if you could measure one small stand of trees and then use the findings to make assumptions about carbon levels in the rest of Guyana’s forests. But anyone who has actually been in a forest knows that tree sizes and species (and therefore carbon) vary considerably from place to place. Which is why Winrock and the GFC opted to divide Guyana into sections based on accessibility (a proxy for the likelihood they would be degraded or deforested). Within these sections, teams were sent to a sizable number of randomly selected forest plots to do their measurements.
  • Actually finding the plot: In a country that’s 85-percent covered by forests and has very few roads, that can be harder than it might seem. But GPS devices and a willingness to tromp through thick forests made it possible.
  • Circular measurements: Once a plot was located, teams literally began measuring the diameter of trees located within a series of concentric circles around that center plot point. Within a two-meter radius, for instance, all saplings with diameters less than five centimeters were measured; within a six-meter radius, all trees with a diameter between five and 25 centimeters were measured; and on it went, out to a 20-meter radius of the original plot point and trees with diameters greater than 50 centimeters. All of this work involved marking already measured trees so as not to duplicate efforts — and also putting the tape measure around the trees at exactly the right spot — 1.3 meters up the trunk, which is known as diameter at breast height, or DBH. Besides measuring the trees, GFC staff also noted the species of the tree because it is an indication of how dense its biomass is.
  • Not getting lost (or bitten): Guyana’s forests are massive and teeming with plant and animal life. These are both great things, but they also meant safety was important. The handbook GFC field teams used included instructions to bring along cell and satellite phones, first-aid kits and to ensure that nearby medical facilities had the right medicine to treat poisonous snakebites.
  • Translating into carbon: What happened to all of the data the GFC labored for years to put together? It was fed into equations that use biomass measurements and covert it into carbon.
ABOUT FARMER-TO-FARMER WINROCK VOLUNTEER ASSISTANCE

SUBSCRIBE TO POSTS

Loading

ARCHIVE

  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • December 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • April 2021
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • November 2019
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011

CATEGORIES

  • AET
  • Africa
    • Ghana
    • Senegal
  • Asia
  • Bangladesh
  • Cuba
  • El Salvador
  • Ethiopia
  • Field Staff
  • Guinea
  • Kenya
  • Latin America
  • Mali
  • Myanmar
  • Nepal
  • Nigeria
  • Postharvest
  • Rural Livelihoods
  • Senegal
  • Spotlights
  • Volunteer Feedback
  • Volunteer of the Month
  • Winrock Staff
WinrockIntl
Tweets by @WinrockIntl
Follow @WinrockIntl

204 E 4th Street | North Little Rock, Arkansas 72114

ph +1 501 280 3000 | fx +1 501 280 3090

2451 Crystal Drive, Suite 700 | Arlington, Virginia 22202

ph +1 703 302 6500 | fx +1 703 302 6512

  • Contact
  • E-News Signup
  • Low Bandwidth
  • Code of Conduct
  • Privacy Statement & Terms of Use
  • Site Map
  • Anti-Trafficking
Copyright © 2015- Winrock International
DEV ENVIRONMENT