North American Forest Commission
Inventory, Monitoring and Assessment Working Group
Guadalajara, Mexico
May 4-6, 2010
NAFC Inventory Working Group, Guadalajara, Mexico - May 2010
Highlights
• Working
W ki G
Group background
b k
d
• Working Group objectives
• Working Group membership
• 3 country NFI overview
• North American Database Project
• FAO Remote Sensingg Project
j
• Other activity
NAFC Inventory Working Group, Guadalajara, Mexico - May 2010
Background
•
•
•
•
Organized in 2001
Recognized need for a North American perspective on
forest inventory
inventory, monitoring and reporting
Recognized that all three countries are implementing
new approaches to NFI
Recognized opportunity to:
– increase consistency in analysis and reporting
– move towards a common framework for inventory and
monitoring
NAFC Inventory Working Group, Guadalajara, Mexico - May 2010
Obj ti
Objectives
•
Share research and information
•
Take advantage of opportunities for collaboration and
scientific exchange on forest inventory and monitoring
•
Focus on:
– Fostering compatible approaches
– Uses of remote sensing and other technologies
– Sponsoring and facilitating exchanges to build capacity
– Sharing ideas on emerging issues
– Fostering open communication
NAFC Inventory Working Group, Guadalajara, Mexico - May 2010
Membership





Canada:
C
d
Mark Gillis
Simon Bridge
Joe Kapron
Alex Song
USA:
Greg Reams
Brad Smith
Ken Brewer
Pat Miles
Sean Healey
Mexico:
• Arturo Victoria
• Francisco Takaki Takaki
• Rigoberto Palafox Rivas
• Ernesto Diaz
NAFC Inventory Working Group, Guadalajara, Mexico - May 2010
Canada NFI Overview
Design
National systematic
Remote sensing
20,000 2x2km photo on 20km grid
Forest plots
1,200 subsamples of photo grid
Trees sampled
Trees sampled
approx 50 000
approx. 50,000
Reporting cycle
5 years
Web access
Yes
NAFC Inventory Working Group, Guadalajara, Mexico - May 2010
Canada NFI Status
• Establishment complete
• Initial results released (2009) Https://NFI.nfis.org
• Remeasurement
R
underway
d
(2007)
- 10 year cycle, 5-year measure and reporting
• Looking at technologies to increase efficiency and
consistency
promote the NFI ggrid as a national monitoring
g
• Continue to p
framework
NAFC Inventory Working Group, Guadalajara, Mexico - May 2010
U S.
U.
S NFI O
Overview
i
Design
National systematic
Remote sensing
4.7 million MODIS pixels
Forest plots
125,000 base plots on 5km grid
,
p
g
8,000 of which are forest health plots on 20km grid
Trees sampled
approx. 3 million
Reporting cycle
5 years
Web access
b
Yes
Plot type
Base P2
Double P2
Triple P2
P3
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Interior Alaska
Pending
Bottom Line
Coastal Alaska
C ti
Continuous
48 of 48 States
Continuous
U.S. NFI Status
2003
2004
2002
2008
2010
2004
2003
2005 06
2005-06
•
All 50 State have annual activity
• Measuring 22,000 forest plots/yr
2001
• Reporting US carbon to IPCC
• National statistics for 2007 released
• Program funding at 92% of target
• Increasing emphasis on land cover/land use
monitoring
NAFC Inventory Working Group, Guadalajara, Mexico - May 2010
Mexico NFI Overview
M i NFI S
Mexico
Status
• Begin remeasurement of 20% of samples annually
• Continue remote sensing process (INEGI)
• Develop additional statistics and change estimators with error
estimates
• Continue collaboration with other environmental agencies and
research institutions
• Promote and support integration with State inventories
• Add forest health indicators to sample design
NAFC Inventory Working Group, Guadalajara, Mexico - May 2010
The key to NFI cooperative success
is core data and definitions
Global
Core Data
National
Core Data
Local Core
Data
NAFC Inventory Working Group, Guadalajara, Mexico - May 2010
North American Database
Project
What:
An integrated spatially defined North American forest
inventory database using the FAO ecological reporting
framework and common North America-wide
protocols.
protocols
Why:
To report on forests in a consistent manner for all
major forest ecosystems of North America from a
continental perspective.
How:
Enlist country forest inventory experts to define
structure, common attributes for database and
potential outputs.
NAFC Inventory Working Group, Guadalajara, Mexico - May 2010
North America
in a global perspective
Population
7%
Land area
Forest area
Plantations
16%
16%
14%
Volume
16%
NAFC Inventory Working Group, Guadalajara, Mexico - May 2010
North American
Land Cover
Unclassifie d
Wate r
6%
Nonfore st
47%
0.3%
Fore st
28%
O the r
woode d land
19%
NAFC Inventory Working Group, Guadalajara, Mexico - May 2010
Core variables
first step, produce FRA tables 1-8 
• Area- land, forest land, water
• Volume (biomass) estimates
• Status (available, protected)
• Ownership (public, private)
• Managed land and unmanaged land
• Type
T
off fforestt ((natural,
t
l plantation)
l t ti )
Does not include afforestation/deforestation table
NAFC Inventory Working Group, Guadalajara, Mexico - May 2010
11 of
North American Database Reporting Tool
NAFC Inventory Working Group, Guadalajara, Mexico - May 2010
Database Project
j
Status
•
All three countries are using a grid approach to
sampling and are in close collaboration on
designs, variables, and definitions.
•
All three countries are moving forward and
should be able to meet most basic international
information needs.
•
Draft database design
g completed
p
•
Draft desktop reporting tool developed
NAFC Inventory Working Group, Guadalajara, Mexico - May 2010
12 of
NAFC UPDATE
FAO Global Remote Sensing Survey
•
Part of the FAO 2010 Forest Resource Assessment
•
10x10km study areas centered at the confluence of 1-degree lines
of latitude and longitude are to be analyzed with Landsat satellite
i
imagery
to assess land
l d use andd land
l d cover trends
d in:
i 1990,
1990 2000,
2000
and 2005
•
FAO has created initial classifications for all study areas.
areas Each
country is responsible for “validating” classification for all study
area within its borders (Canada: 1244 areas; USA: 1045 areas;
Mexico: 181 areas)
NAFC Inventory Working Group, Guadalajara, Mexico - May 2010
FAO Remote Sensing Survey North American Workshop held in Salt
Lake City, USA – 29-31 March, 2010
Accomplishments:
• Clarification and direction from FAO
about methods and goals of the land
use/land cover classification
• Feedback from Mexico and the US about
country- andd ecosystem-specific
ifi technical
h i l
challenges
• Agreement on methods to satisfy both
countries’ processing responsibilities,
drawing heavily from pre-established
national spatial land cover data
NAFC Inventory Working Group, Guadalajara, Mexico - May 2010
Other Activity
The Working Group actively supports the new
NFI program in Brazil and invites their
p
to annual Working
g Group
p
representatives
meetings to provide updates on the status of their
NFI program.
NAFC Inventory Working Group, Guadalajara, Mexico - May 2010