Regional Condition Assessments
Forests play a vital role in the global carbon cycle, acting as both carbon reservoirs and potential emission sources. They store vast amounts of carbon in woody biomass, while also releasing carbon emissions through decomposition, fires, and other disturbances like deforestation and harvesting. As a result, Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory (NGGI) places significant emphasis on forest monitoring.
The NGGI uses remote sensing data and forest growth models to assess forest carbon at national and state levels. However, these assessments lack the spatial and temporal resolution needed for effective land management, limiting our understanding of forest dynamics and opportunities for better carbon management.
To address this issue, FLINTpro, in collaboration with the Burnett Mary Regional Group (BMRG), completed a Forest Carbon Condition assessment across the entire region. This initiative assesses forest carbon across BMRG catchment areas at a more relevant spatial scale, analyzing changes in forest extent and related carbon fluctuations in the BMRG Natural Resource Management Regions.
By using data compatible with the NGGI and implementing it through FLINTpro, Forest Carbon Condition assessment offered valuable insights into sub-drainage basins, catchments, and riparian zones. This enhanced understanding empowers land managers to make better-informed decisions and uncover new opportunities for optimizing forest carbon management.
