http://www.cbmjournal.com The latest research articles published by Carbon Balance and Management 2010-06-17T00:00:00Z This is an RSS newsfeed from BioMed Central It is intended to be used with an RSS reader. For more information about RSS newsfeeds from BioMed Central, visit http://www.biomedcentral.com/info/about/rss/ Background: Since sugarcane areas have increased rapidly in Brazil, the contribution of the sugarcane production, and, especially, of the sugarcane harvest system to the greenhouse gas emissions of the country is an issue of national concern. Here we analyze some data characterizing various activities of two sugarcane mills during the harvest period of 2006-2007 and quantify the carbon footprint of sugar production. Results: According to our calculations, 241 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent were released to the atmosphere per a ton of sugar produced (2406 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent per a hectare of the cropped area, and 26.5 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent per a ton of sugarcane processed). The major part of the total emission (44%) resulted from residues burning; about 20% resulted from the use of synthetic fertilizers, and about 18% from fossil fuel combustion. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the most important reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from sugarcane areas could be achieved by switching to a green harvest system, that is, to harvesting without burning. http://www.cbmjournal.com/content/5/1/3 Eduardo de Figueiredo Alan Panosso Rangel Romao Newton La Scala Carbon Balance and Management 2010, 5:3 2010-06-17T00:00:00Z doi:10.1186/1750-0680-5-3 Carbon Balance and Management 1750-0680 5 3 2010-06-17T00:00:00Z XML The 'Copenhagen Accord' fails to deliver the political framework for a fair, ambitious and legally-binding international climate agreement beyond 2012. The current climate policy regime dynamics are insufficient to reflect the realities of topical complexity, actor coalitions, as well as financial, legal and institutional challenges in the light of extreme time constraints to avoid 'dangerous' climate change of more than 2°C. In this paper we analyze these stumbling blocks for international climate policy and discuss alternatives in order to regain momentum for future negotiations. http://www.cbmjournal.com/content/5/1/2 Michael Huettner Annette Freibauer Constanze Haug Uwe Cantner Carbon Balance and Management 2010, 5:2 2010-06-04T00:00:00Z doi:10.1186/1750-0680-5-2 Carbon Balance and Management 1750-0680 5 2 2010-06-04T00:00:00Z XML Background: Until recently, a lot of arable lands were abandoned in many countries of the world and, especially, in Russia, where about half a million square kilometers of arable lands were abandoned in 1961-2007. The soils at these fallows undergo a process of natural restoration (or self-restoration) that changes the balance of soil organic matter (SOM) supply and mineralization. Results: A soil chronosequence study, covering the ecosystems of 3, 20, 55, 100, and 170 years of self-restoration in southern taiga zone, shows that soil organic content of mineral horizons remains relatively stable during the self-restoration. This does not imply, however, that SOM pools remain steady. The C/N ratio of active SOM reached steady state after 55 years, and increased doubly (from 12.5 - 15.6 to 32.2-33.8). As to the C/N ratio of passive SOM, it has been continuously increasing (from 11.8-12.7 to 19.0-22.8) over the 170 years, and did not reach a steady condition. Conclusion: The results of the study imply that soil recovery at the abandoned arable sandy lands of taiga is incredibly slow process. Not only soil morphological features of a former ploughing remained detectable but also the balance of soil organic matter input and mineralization remained unsteady after 170 years of self-restoration. http://www.cbmjournal.com/content/5/1/1 Olga Kalinina Sergey Goryachkin Nina Karavaeva Dmitriy Lyuri Luise Giani Carbon Balance and Management 2010, 5:1 2010-04-26T00:00:00Z doi:10.1186/1750-0680-5-1 Carbon Balance and Management 1750-0680 5 1 2010-04-26T00:00:00Z XML The issues surrounding 'Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation' (REDD) have become a major component of continuing negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This paper aims to address two key requirements of any potential REDD mechanism: first, the generation of measurable, reportable and verifiable (MRV) REDD credits; and secondly, the sustainable and efficient provision of emission reductions under a robust financing regime.To ensure the supply of MRV credits, we advocate the establishment of an 'International Emission Reference Scenario Coordination Centre' (IERSCC). The IERSCC would act as a global clearing house for harmonized data to be used in implementing reference level methodologies. It would be tasked with the collection, reporting and subsequent processing of earth observation, deforestation- and degradation driver information in a globally consistent manner. The IERSCC would also assist, coordinate and supervise the computation of national reference scenarios according to rules negotiated under the UNFCCC. To overcome the threats of "market flooding" on the one hand and insufficient economic incentives for REDD on the other hand, we suggest an 'International Investment Reserve' (IIR) as REDD financing framework. In order to distribute the resources of the IIR we propose adopting an auctioning mechanism.Auctioning not only reveals the true emission reduction costs, but might also allow for incentivizing the protection of biodiversity and socio-economic values. The introduced concepts will be vital to ensure robustness, environmental integrity and economic efficiency of the future REDD mechanism. http://www.cbmjournal.com/content/4/1/11 Michael Obersteiner Michael Huettner Florian Kraxner Ian McCallum Kentaro Aoki Hannes Bottcher Steffen Fritz Mykola Gusti Petr Havlik Georg Kindermann Ewald Rametsteiner Belinda Reyers Carbon Balance and Management 2009, 4:11 2009-11-27T00:00:00Z doi:10.1186/1750-0680-4-11 Carbon Balance and Management 1750-0680 4 11 2009-11-27T00:00:00Z XML Background: Following recent discussions, there is hope that a mechanism for reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) will be agreed by the Parties of the UNFCCC at their 15th meeting in Copenhagen in 2009 as an eligible action to prevent climate changes and global warming in post-2012 commitment periods. Countries introducing a REDD-regime in order to generate benefits need to implement sound monitoring and reporting systems and specify the associated uncertainties. The principle of conservativeness addresses the problem of estimation errors and requests the reporting of reliable minimum estimates (RME). Here the potential to generate benefits from applying a REDD-regime is proposed with reference to sampling and non-sampling errors that influence the reliability of estimated activity data and emission factors. Results: A framework for calculating carbon benefits by including assessment errors is developed. Theoretical, sample based considerations as well as a simulation study for five selected countries with low to high deforestation and degradation rates show that even small assessment errors (5% and less) may outweigh successful efforts to reduce deforestation and degradation. Conclusion: The generation of benefits from REDD is possible only in situations where assessment errors are carefully controlled. http://www.cbmjournal.com/content/4/1/10 Michael Kohl Thomas Baldauf Daniel Plugge Joachim Krug Carbon Balance and Management 2009, 4:10 2009-11-13T00:00:00Z doi:10.1186/1750-0680-4-10 Carbon Balance and Management 1750-0680 4 10 2009-11-13T00:00:00Z XML Background: Although significant amounts of carbon may be stored in harvested wood products, the extraction of that carbon from the forest generally entails combustion of fossil fuels. The transport of timber from the forest to primary milling facilities may in particular create emissions that reduce the net sequestration value of product carbon storage. However, attempts to quantify the effects of transport on the net effects of forest management typically use relatively sparse survey data to determine transportation emission factors. We developed an approach for systematically determining transport emissions using: 1) -remotely sensed maps to estimate the spatial distribution of harvests, and 2) - industry data to determine landscape-level harvest volumes as well as the location and processing totals of individual mills. These data support spatial network analysis that can produce estimates of fossil carbon released in timber transport. Results: Transport-related emissions, evaluated as a fraction of transported wood carbon at 4 points in time on a landscape in western Montana (USA), rose from 0.5% in 1988 to 1.7% in 2004 as local mills closed and spatial patterns of harvest shifted due to decreased logging on federal lands. Conclusion: The apparent sensitivity of transport emissions to harvest and infrastructure patterns suggests that timber haul is a dynamic component of forest carbon management that bears further study both across regions and over time. The monitoring approach used here, which draws only from widely available monitoring data, could readily be adapted to provide current and historical estimates of transport emissions in a consistent way across large areas. http://www.cbmjournal.com/content/4/1/9 Sean Healey Jock Blackard Todd Morgan Dan Loeffler Greg Jones Jon Songster Jason Brandt Gretchen Moisen Larry DeBlander Carbon Balance and Management 2009, 4:9 2009-10-29T00:00:00Z doi:10.1186/1750-0680-4-9 Carbon Balance and Management 1750-0680 4 9 2009-10-29T00:00:00Z XML Production efficiency models (PEMs) are based on the theory of light use efficiency (LUE) which states that a relatively constant relationship exists between photosynthetic carbon uptake and radiation receipt at the canopy level. Challenges remain however in the application of the PEM methodology to global net primary productivity (NPP) monitoring. The objectives of this review are as follows: 1) to describe the general functioning of six PEMs (CASA; GLO-PEM; TURC; C-Fix; MOD17; and BEAMS) identified in the literature; 2) to review each model to determine potential improvements to the general PEM methodology; 3) to review the related literature on satellite-based gross primary productivity (GPP) and NPP modeling for additional possibilities for improvement; and 4) based on this review, propose items for coordinated research.This review noted a number of possibilities for improvement to the general PEM architecture - ranging from LUE to meteorological and satellite-based inputs. Current PEMs tend to treat the globe similarly in terms of physiological and meteorological factors, often ignoring unique regional aspects. Each of the existing PEMs has developed unique methods to estimate NPP and the combination of the most successful of these could lead to improvements. It may be beneficial to develop regional PEMs that can be combined under a global framework. The results of this review suggest the creation of a hybrid PEM could bring about a significant enhancement to the PEM methodology and thus terrestrial carbon flux modeling.Key items topping the PEM research agenda identified in this review include the following: LUE should not be assumed constant, but should vary by plant functional type (PFT) or photosynthetic pathway; evidence is mounting that PEMs should consider incorporating diffuse radiation; continue to pursue relationships between satellite-derived variables and LUE, GPP and autotrophic respiration (Ra); there is an urgent need for satellite-based biomass measurements to improve Ra estimation; and satellite-based soil moisture data could improve determination of soil water stress. http://www.cbmjournal.com/content/4/1/8 Ian McCallum Wolfgang Wagner Christiane Schmullius Anatoly Shvidenko Michael Obersteiner Steffen Fritz Sten Nilsson Carbon Balance and Management 2009, 4:8 2009-09-18T00:00:00Z doi:10.1186/1750-0680-4-8 Carbon Balance and Management 1750-0680 4 8 2009-09-18T00:00:00Z XML Background: Negotiations on a future climate policy framework addressing Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) are ongoing. Regardless of how such a framework will be designed, many technical solutions of estimating forest cover and forest carbon stock change exist to support policy in monitoring and accounting. These technologies typically combine remotely sensed data with ground-based inventories. In this article we assess the costs of monitoring REDD based on available technologies and requirements associated with key elements of REDD policy. Results: We find that the design of a REDD policy framework (and specifically its rules) can have a significant impact on monitoring costs. Costs may vary from 0.5 to 550 US$ per square kilometre depending on the required precision of carbon stock and area change detection. Moreover, they follow economies of scale, i.e. single country or project solutions will face relatively higher monitoring costs. Conclusion: Although monitoring costs are relatively small compared to other cost items within a REDD system, they should be shared not only among countries but also among sectors, because an integrated monitoring system would have multiple benefits for non-REDD management. Overcoming initialization costs and unequal access to monitoring technologies is crucial for implementation of an integrated monitoring system, and demands for international cooperation. http://www.cbmjournal.com/content/4/1/7 Hannes Bottcher Katja Eisbrenner Steffen Fritz Georg Kindermann Florian Kraxner Ian McCallum Michael Obersteiner Carbon Balance and Management 2009, 4:7 2009-08-26T00:00:00Z doi:10.1186/1750-0680-4-7 Carbon Balance and Management 1750-0680 4 7 2009-08-26T00:00:00Z XML Background: The Himalayan zones, with dense forest vegetation, cover a fifth part of India and store a third part of the country reserves of soil organic carbon (SOC). However, the details of altitudinal distribution of these carbon stocks, which are vulnerable to forest management and climate change impacts, are not well known. Results: This article reports the results of measuring the stocks of SOC along altitudinal gradients. The study was carried out in the coniferous subtropical and broadleaf temperate forests of Garhwal Himalaya. The stocks of SOC were found to be decreasing with altitude: from 185.6 to 160.8 t C ha-1 and from 141.6 to 124.8 t C ha-1 in temperature (Quercus leucotrichophora) and subtropical (Pinus roxburghii) forests, respectively. Conclusion: The results of this study lead to conclusion that the ability of soil to stabilize soil organic matter depends negatively on altitude and call for comprehensive theoretical explanation http://www.cbmjournal.com/content/4/1/6 Mehraj Sheikh Munesh Kumar Rainer Bussmann Carbon Balance and Management 2009, 4:6 2009-08-25T00:00:00Z doi:10.1186/1750-0680-4-6 Carbon Balance and Management 1750-0680 4 6 2009-08-25T00:00:00Z XML Background: The Accra climate change talks held from 21–27 August 2008 in Accra, Ghana, were part of an ongoing series of meetings leading up to the Copenhagen meeting in December 2009. During the meeting a set of options for accounting carbon sequestration in forestry on a post-2012 framework was presented. The options include gross-net and net-net accounting and approaches for establishing baselines. Results: This article demonstrates the embedded consequences of Accra Accounting Options for the case study of German national GHG accounting. It presents the most current assessment of sequestration rates by forest management for the period 1990 – 2007, provides an outlook of future emissions and removals (up to the year 2042) as related to three different management scenarios, and shows that implementation of some Accra options may reverse sources to sinks, or sinks to sources. Conclusion: The results of the study highlight the importance of elaborating an accounting system that would prioritize the climate convention goals, not national preferences. http://www.cbmjournal.com/content/4/1/5 Joachim Krug Michael Kohl Thomas Riedel Kristin Bormann Sebastian Ruter Peter Elsasser Carbon Balance and Management 2009, 4:5 2009-08-03T00:00:00Z doi:10.1186/1750-0680-4-5 Carbon Balance and Management 1750-0680 4 5 2009-08-03T00:00:00Z XML