Background Guide for the Calculation of Land Carbon Stocks in the Biofuels Sustainability Scheme Drawing on the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories

This Guide covers the calculation of carbon-stock changes in soil and above- and below-ground vegetation due to land use conversion in support of Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, particularly for assessing carbon-stock changes due to land conversion for biofuel production. The methodology put forward is based on the Tier 1 approach as developed under the IPCC Guidelines 2006. It is based on specifying default values for carbon stocks and using coefficients of divergence from the default values according to land use/cover. The methodological approach of the IPCC was adapted for use with spatial layers instead of data tables. The spatial layers of the factors influencing carbon-stock changes were generated with global coverage and thematically aligned to comply with stipulations made in the Directive. According to the types of land use/cover conversion, a review is made of the methodology of the IPCC (2006). Particular problems regarding peatlands are presented. Drained peatlands cannot be assessed in terms of carbon-stock changes because drainage occurs on the overall peat soil profile (not only on the first 30- cm). This has direct consequences not only on CO2 emissions but also on CH4 and N2O. Tables of coefficients of conversions are then proposed according to climate zone and continental boundaries for soil carbon-stock changes and for above- and below-ground carbon stock changes in biomass in a Technical Annex.JRC.DDG.H.7 - Land management and natural hazard

Harmonized Methods for Assessing Carbon Sequestration in European Forests

The MASCAREF (Study under EEC 2152/2003 Forest Focus regulation on developing harmonized methods for assessing carbon sequestration in European forests) project was conducted by a consortium of 10 European institutions coordinated by IFER ¿ Institute of Forest Ecosystem Research, Czech Republic. The overall objective of this project was to contribute to the development of a monitoring scheme for carbon sequestration in forests of the European Union (EU). Specifically, the project aimed at i) strengthening and harmonizing the existing national systems to better meet the requirements of international monitoring and reporting of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions and sinks and ii) improving the comparability, transparency and accuracy of the GHG inventory reports of the Land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector of the EU Member States, as implemented in the EC Monitoring Mechanism. This project represents a step towards addressing the challenges of GHG inventories and the reporting under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto protocol related to forest land and forest activities. Reflecting the heterogeneity in land use, natural conditions and monitoring data availability, there is a wide variety in greenhouse gas reporting practices within the European Community, which becomes clearly apparent from an overview of the current GHG reporting practices prepared by MASCAREF. The particular tasks of the project were based on available data from regional, national and EU-wide projects and relevant activities that took place over the last decade. The project elaboration was conducted within several major tasks, followed by selected regional case-studies. Firstly, the currently available data and methodological approaches to estimate carbon stock and carbon stock change for emission inventories were analyzed. Secondly, the project conducted an analysis of ICP Forests health monitoring and Forest Focus programs. Similarly, it assessed the potential of utilizing data from the European National Forest Inventories for the purpose of emission inventory under UNFCCC and the Kyoto protocol. Related to this, the JRC AFOLUDATA website on biomass functions and conversion/expansion factors http://afoludata.jrc.ec.europa.eu/index.php/public_area/home) was complemented by adding new factors from the European member states. Also, the methodologies to aggregate the forest carbon stock data based on the National Forest Inventory plots to a 10x10 km grid were explored. Finally, several of the above tasks were elaborated and/or applied in case studies in the selected regions of Europe. The MASCAREF project fulfilled its main objectives and its results should facilitate a further development of monitoring schemes for carbon stock change assessment in forests of the European member states, hopefully leading to an improved GHG reportingJRC.DDG.H.2-Climate chang

LULUCF MRV - Analysis and proposals for enhancing Monitoring, Reporting and Verification of greenhouse gases from Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry in the EU

Land use land use change and forestry sector (LULUCF) is a greenhouse gas inventory (GHG) sector that covers anthropogenic emissions and removals from terrestrial carbon stocks living biomass dead organic matter and soil organic carbon following six main land use categories, Forest land, Cropland, Grassland, Wetlands, Settlements and Other land. According to the United Nation Framework Contract on Climate Change (UNFCCC) all Parties shall report periodically an update inventory of anthropogenic emissions and removals of GHG using comparable methodologies provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Additional requirements exist for reporting and accounting emissions/removals from related direct-human induced activities under the Kyoto Protocol (KP), because its accounting quantities are counted towards an international commitment reduction target. International negotiations have resulted in recent years in the adoption of new rules (e.g. mandatory accounting of Forest management) for the second commitment period of the KP (CP2: 2013-2020). Furthermore, Decision 529/2013/EU, going beyond the international negotiation, added the mandatory accounting of Cropland management and Grassland management. All these changes pose new challenges that MS will need to face from 2015 (i.e. for starting to report during CP2). This report describes the actions undertaken in the context of the Administrative Arrangement “LULUCF MRV” (Monitoring, Reporting, Verification) with DG CLIMA, trough a sequence of tasks (described in detailed in the Annexes). The aim of the AA is to support MS in improving the quality and comparability of LULUCF reporting during CP2, in line with IPCC methods and the new rules at UNFCCC and EU level.JRC.H.3-Forest Resources and Climat

Technical and scientific support to Eurostat: gap-filling of data on the stock and flow of timber and comparison of the area of forest land and other wooded land reported from different data sources (AA LAFOWA)

This report focuses on the second task of the Administrative Arrangement ESTAT-2021-0372, named LAFOWA, and signed between DG ESTAT and DG JRC. Task 2 aims to update and extend the time series reported on EFA table A2a for the period of 2016 – 2020, and to provide a structured and comprehensive comparison of publicly available data on the area of forest land and other wooded land as reported from different data sources. The first subtask follows the completion of the activities carried out within the previous AA ESTAT-2019-0300 (AA LAFO). At this purpose, updating to 2020 the estimates provided from the forest growth model applied within the AA LAFO, we estimated, for each country, all the main components of the growing stock balance as reported within the table A2a. Within the second subtask we provided a systematic comparison between the definition of forest considered from FAO and other international institutions, and the one provided from National Forest Inventories. While the definition of forest land is generally consistent between EU Member States, various studies highlighted that the concept of forest area available for wood supply is based on different legal, environmental and/or economic parameters varying at country level. For this reason, the data reported from various countries are not fully comparable. Similar issues can be also highlighted for the definition of Other Wooded Land applied at country level. In some cases, this definition may considerably diverge from the international definition.JRC.D.1 - Forests and Bio-Econom

Biomass Conversion and Expansion Factors for Young Norway Spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) Trees Planted on Non-Forest Lands in Eastern Carpathians

In this study biomass conversion and expansion factors (BCEFs) were developed for young Norway spruce trees planted on non-forest lands, in order to support quantification of carbon stock changes in biomass pools of afforestation works. Regression models for stem volume and stem wood density were also developed. The data set included 250 trees collected from 25 plantations between 1 and 12 years old, located in the Eastern Carpathians of Romania. The study shows that BCEFs decreased with increasing tree dimensions, following an exponential trend. In all proposed models the highest prediction was reached when both variables considered (i.e. root-collar diameter and height) were used together. However, used separately, height produced a slightly higher prediction compared to root-collar diameter. Stem volume was well predicted by both root-collar diameter and height. Anyway, a significant improvement in prediction resulted when both variables were used together. Stem wood density decreased sharply with the increase of the two tree dimensions used as variables

Technical corrections for the forest reference levels under the LULUCF regulation (EU) 2018/841

Regulation (EU) 2018/841 sets the accounting rules for the land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector for the years 2021-2030. In the first compliance period 2021-2025, the accounting for managed forest land is made by comparing the reported net emissions to a projected forest reference level (FRL). The compliance check will take place based on the Member State greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory submissions of March 2027. As the GHG inventories improve in data and methodologies, there may be a need to apply technical corrections (TC) to the national FRLs to make sure that the projected FRL and the GHG reporting in 2027 are comparable. In this report, we reflect on the typical cases in which the need for a TC arises and on situations that do not lead to a TC.JRC.D.1 - Forests and Bio-Econom

The calibration of the JRC EU Forest Carbon Model within the historical period 2010 - 2020

Forest resources play a strategic role within EU policies on climate, energy, environment and bioeconomy. For this reason, since 2012, the JRC has been developing in-house modelling capacities to assess the recent and future development of European forests’ biomass and carbon stocks using the Carbon Budget Model (CBM-CFS3). A new modelling framework, EU-CBM-HAT, has recently been developed to facilitate configuration of future management scenarios (JRC130609). In this document, we describe the calibration of the model integrating new information based both on a recent harmonization effort of ground data collected at national level, and on new data that is provided by Earth Observation systems. This report describes the input data, harmonization efforts and methodological assumptions applied for calibrating, at country level, the EU-CBM-HAT, and provides a synthesis and a systematic comparison of the main output obtained for the calibration period 2010 - 2020.JRC.D.1 - Forests and Bio-Econom

Blockchain-driven customer order management

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of Blockchain on the customer order management process and operations. There is limited understanding of the use and benefits of Blockchain on supply chains, and less so at processes level. To date, there is no research on the effects of Blockchain in the customer order management process. Design/methodology/approach A twofold method is followed. First, a Blockchain is programmed and implemented in a large international firm. Second, a series of simulations are built based on three scenarios: current with no-Blockchain, 1-year and 5-year Blockchain use. Findings Blockchain improves the efficiency of the process: it reduces the number of operations, reduces the average time of orders in the system, reduces workload, shows traceability of orders and improves visibility to various supply chain participants. Research limitations/implications The research is based on a single in-depth case that has the scope to be tested in other contexts in future. Practical implications This is the first study that demonstrates with real data from an industrial firm the effects of Blockchain on the efficiency gains, reduction on the number of operations and human-processing savings. A detailed description of the Blockchain implementation is provided. Furthermore, this research shows a list of the resources and capabilities needed for building and maintaining a Blockchain in the context of supply chains. Originality/value This is the first study that demonstrates with real data from an industrial firm the effects of Blockchain on the efficiency gains, the reduction in the number of operations and human-processing savings. A detailed description of the Blockchain implementation is provided. This paper contributes to the resource-based view of the firm, by demonstrating two new competitive valuable capabilities and a new dynamic capability that organisations develop when implementing and using Blockchain in a supply–demand process. It also contributes to the information processing theory by highlighting the analytics capabilities required to sustain Blockchain-related operations. </jats:sec

Simulating future wood consumption and the impacts on Europe's forest sink to 2070

As forest management is increasingly influenced by climate change and climate change policy, among other factors, assessing carbon budget dynamics is essential to forecast the impacts of future wood consumption on carbon sequestration. To assess plausible future forest management options at EU level and their impacts on the forest carbon sink until 2070, we propose different scenarios using a combination of socio-economic pathways and various levels of intensity of forest removal. European Union Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) targets define specific objectives for 2030 and for 2050, hence we focus on reporting results for those years. The annual wood harvest in the EU amounted to 1.1 m3 yr-1 per capita in 2021. We simulate future wood consumption by contrasting socio-economic pathways where harvest either increases to 1.4 m3 yr-1 per capita or decreases to 0.9 cubic meters per year per capita by 2050. Projections for the high consumption scenario show that an intensified use of non-merchantable wood resources would reduce the area affected by direct management activities, and the forest carbon sink would almost meet the EU LULUCF target for forest land, estimated at -420 million tonnes Carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2 e) per year in 2030. Thereafter, however, the forest carbon sink will deteriorate rapidly due to increased wood consumption. Only a prolonged reduction in wood consumption as illustrated by the Fair redistribution scenario will keep the forest carbon budget above the European Union target until 2050 and thereafter. Meanwhile, our analyses demonstrate that the need to increase the forest carbon sink to mitigate climate change could be challenged by an increase in future harvest intensity and wood utilization.JRC.D.1 - Forests and Bio-Econom

Moving to higher tiers for soil carbon

The 2023 revised LULUCF regulation will require Tier 2 methods for monitoring all land and carbon pools by the reporting of the 2026 emission year, and then later Tier 3 methods for a subset of land including, among others, forests and peatlands that undergo restoration or protection for nature directives. This requirement is particularly challenging for soil carbon for which Tier 1 is still used by many Member States for several land categories. This document offers answers to frequently arising questions in the topic of higher methodological tiers for soil carbon pool monitoring, as well as practical advice on how to implement them. Regarding Tier 2, we suggest a step by step method to estimate reference carbon stock (SOCref) and carbon stock modifying factors (eg. FLU) using national datasets on soil carbon or international databases such as the LUCAS soil survey. We also propose a list of FMG emission factors for agricultural practices based on a literature review for the temperate zone. Regarding Tier 3, we distinguish between measurement-based methods (repeated soil inventories) and model-based methods. Measurement-based methods tend to be costly, but they are necessary as no model can guarantee an accurate national total in a context of environmental and management changes. Model-based methods allow to disentangle the different drivers of soil carbon changes and reduce the number of repeated measurements needed. Their evaluation, in line with the IPCC guidelines, is also discussed.JRC.D.1 - Forests and Bio-Econom