Integrating FIA with Other Research Activities

The Delaware River Basin Project&

The North American Carbon Program

Richard BirdseyProgram Manager

Global Change Research

Land cover and physiographic provinces in the Delaware River Basin

The Delaware River BasinCollaborative Environmental Monitoring and Research Initiative (CEMRI)

Monitoring at Multiple Scales to Link Processes and Observations

The Delaware River BasinCollaborative Environmental Monitoring and

Research Initiative (CEMRI)

• Richard Birdsey• John Hom• Yude Pan• Rachel Riemann• Michael Hoppus• Kevin McCullough• Ken Stolte• Dave Williams• Mike Montgomery• Rakesh Minocha• Walter Shortle

• Peter Murdoch• Mike McHale• Jeff Fischer• Dalia Varanka• Zhi-Liang Zhu• Jeff Eidenshink• Greg Lawrence

• Jennifer Jenkins (U. of Vermont)• Richard Evans (National Park

Service)

USDA Forest Service USDI Geological Survey

Other Investigators

Overview of Delaware River Basin Pilot Monitoring Program

• Multi-agency effort to develop an environmental monitoring framework– USGS, FS, NPS, NASA, State and local partners

• State-of-the-art application of monitoring technology at multiple scales

• Issues:– forest fragmentation – carbon sequestration – non-native invasive pests– calcium depletion and nitrogen deposition– Integrated effects on water quality

The Multi-tier Approach to Monitoring

Multi-Scale Evaluation

MODIS with field validation – “bigfoot”

USFS approach to forest health monitoring

Summary of Data Sources

• Remote sensing– MODIS– Landsat TM– AVHRR– Low-altitude CIR aerial photography

• Existing field data– Operational USFS forest inventory (FIA/FHM) with

enhancements for ecosystem carbon– Operational USGS water quality surveys (NAWQA)

with enhancements for water transport of carbon– National Atmospheric Deposition Network (NADP)– Historical maps of land use

• Enhanced field data collection– Intensified FIA and FHM plots in small watersheds– Added variables: soil, water, carbon, productivity

Integrated Sample Plot Network in a Small Watershed

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (outlined in red)

The “Three Watershed Study” in the Delaware Water Gap

Issue: Forest Fragmentation of the Delaware River Basin

Land cover of Dingman’s Falls watershed derived from various remote sensors

Fragmentation Study Watersheds in the Delaware River Basin – Base Map is NLCD’92 from TM Data

• Fragmentation estimates from low-altitude CIR aerial photography

• Water quality data from USGS NAWQA synoptic sample

• 32 watersheds comprise a factorial experiment: urbanization (5 levels) x EPT richness (3 levels)

Neversink

Delaware Water Gap

French Creek

Landscape variable

(selected examples)

EPT

index

Habitat quality

Chloride conc.

Pesticide toxicity

Basin & buffer % forest + + - -

Basin road, house, population density - - + +

Basin & buffer % urban, %imperv. - - + +

Basin % commercial/industrial - + +

Buffer % commercial/industrial - - + +

Forest aggregation index + - -

Forest centroid connectivity + - -

Urban edge - +

Landscape variables that were highly correlated with stream response indicators

Summary of Models

• Biome-BGC – (Steve Running - NPP from MODIS)

• FORCARB estimators – (Forest Service - forest carbon budgets)

• PnET-CN – (John Aber - ecosystem processes)

• SPARROW – (USGS - water quality and carbon transport)

• Data processing and scaling– Many different statistical estimators

Biomass from 5 PnET Model Scenarios

Soil Carbon from 5 PnET Model Scenarios

Net Primary Productivity from 5 PnET Model Scenarios

Spatial Variability of Nitrogen Loss from Forests of the Delaware River Basin

Forests in the northern half of the basin lose more nitrogen because of higher rainfall and deposition, and steeper slopes. Vegetation condition is also a factor.

Atmospheric inputs and stream N losses in or near the Delaware River Basin

Watershed Mean stream output

N Deposition

N Retentio

n (kgN/ha-yr) (kgN/ ha-yr)

1Benner Run, PA 0.73 15.6 95 1Rober Run, PA 0.64 15.2 96 1Linn Run, PA 1.97 15.3 98 1Balswin Ck, PA 1.97 15.5 87 2Delaware Bay 1.83 12.65 86 3Delaware Bay 2.96 12.65 77 3Delaware Inland 0.16 11.56 98

Model Results 1.47- 2.93 8.85-11.08 71-86

1. Gardner et al., 1996 2. Alexander et al. 2000 3. Turner et al. 2000

Published Estimates of N Deposition, Retention, and

Output from DRB Watersheds

Expected Results and Products

• Integrated data sets: vegetation/soils/air/water from ground and space

• Analytical tools: models for scenario analysis• “Carbonshed” budgets at several scales• Improved operational inventories• Environmental trend analysis related to identified issues• Process models to link across scales• Project evaluation – has collaborative monitoring delivered better

information?• Conservation education• Comparison of estimates from MODIS with ground data• Science applications meeting with Delaware River Basin

Commission

North American Carbon Program (NACP) – Biophysical Measurements and Models

• Reduce the uncertainty in land-based monitoring of changes in carbon stocks

• Fully integrate land-based measurements with atmospheric measurements

• Provide the mechanistic foundation for inverse modeling and data assimilation

NACP Hierarchical land surface measurement program

• Tier One – Remote Sensing and Mapping– Wall-to-wall coverage; stratification– Temporal resolution = high or low

• Tier Two – Extensive Inventories and Surveys– Representative regional statistical sample– Temporal resolution = low

• Tier Three – Condition Sample (new)– Representative of specified condition classes– Temporal resolution = medium

• Tier Four –Intensive Areas – Relatively small number of specific sites– Temporal resolution = high

Multi-tier Monitoring Concept for the Land Component of NACP

Example

Variable

Tier 1Remote Sensing

Tier 2Extensive Inventory

Tier 3Condition Sample

Tier 4Intensive Site

Land cover X X X X

Leaf area X X X X

Disturbance X X X X*

Live biomass X X X

Litterfall X X

Soil CO2 flux X X

Methane flux X X

DOC X X

NEE X

* Designed experiments

Objectives of “Tier 3” of NACP

• Augment coverage of the land surface by tier 4 sites– Natural disturbances and management

– Edges/fragmented landscapes

– Mountain terrain

• Facilitate scaling from intensive sites to landscapes

• Model parameterization or validation

FS Flux TowerOther Flux TowerPotential New FS Flux TowerPotential New FS Biometric Site

Tier 3 Pilot Test Locations

Sampling Scheme for a Tier 3 Site

1 x 1 km grid of inventory plots surrounding a special research installation

• 9-36 inventory plots km-2

• Flux, meteorological tower or other installation at center

•Other measures (litterfall, respiration) take place at inventory plots

Tower location

Niwot Ridge LTER, Colorado

Opportunities to Link FIA and Other Research

• Synergistic activities between FIA/FHM/GC/USGS– Scaling – top down/bottom up – multi-tier approach– Multi-phase estimation techniques– Integrated environmental monitoring – land/air/water (e.g.

fragmentation and water q.)– Specific variables (e.g. soils) or unique systems (e.g. riparian)

• Specific future projects?– Additional pilot studies:

• DRB 2? Where?• NACP “Tier 3”?

– Techniques development:• New variables or enhanced variables?• Estimation methods for multi-phase inventories?• Linking P1/P2/P3 with research sites (P4/P5)?• Others?