Integrating FIA with Other Research
Activities
The Delaware River Basin Project
&
The North American Carbon Program
Richard Birdsey
Program Manager
Global Change Research
The Delaware River Basin
Collaborative
Environmental Monitoring
and Research Initiative
(CEMRI)
Monitoring at Multiple Scales
to Link Processes and
Observations
Land cover and physiographic
provinces in the Delaware River
Basin
The Delaware River Basin
Collaborative Environmental Monitoring and
Research Initiative (CEMRI)
USDA Forest Service
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Richard Birdsey
John Hom
Yude Pan
Rachel Riemann
Michael Hoppus
Kevin McCullough
Ken Stolte
Dave Williams
Mike Montgomery
Rakesh Minocha
Walter Shortle
USDI Geological Survey
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Peter Murdoch
Mike McHale
Jeff Fischer
Dalia Varanka
Zhi-Liang Zhu
Jeff Eidenshink
Greg Lawrence
Other Investigators
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Jennifer Jenkins (U. of Vermont)
Richard Evans (National Park
Service)
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:
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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
USFS approach to forest
health monitoring
MODIS with field
validation – “bigfoot”
Summary of Data
Sources
• Remote sensing
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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
Neversink
Delaware
Water Gap
Fragmentation Study
Watersheds in the
Delaware River Basin –
Base Map is NLCD’92
from TM Data
• Fragmentation
estimates from
low-altitude CIR aerial
photography
French
Creek
• Water quality data from USGS
NAWQA synoptic sample
• 32 watersheds comprise a
factorial experiment:
urbanization (5 levels) x EPT
richness (3 levels)
Landscape variables that were highly
correlated with stream response indicators
Landscape variable
(selected examples)
EPT
index
Habitat
quality
Basin & buffer % forest
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Basin road, house, population density
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Basin & buffer % urban, %imperv.
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Basin % commercial/industrial
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Buffer % commercial/industrial
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Forest aggregation index
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Forest centroid connectivity
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Urban edge
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Chloride Pesticide
conc.
toxicity
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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.
Published Estimates of N
Deposition, Retention, and
Output from DRB Watersheds
Atmospheric inputs and stream N losses
in or near the Delaware River Basin
Watershed
Mean
stream
output
N
N
Deposition Retentio
n
(kgN/ha-yr) (kgN/ ha-yr)
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Benner Run, PA
0.73
15.6
95
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Rober Run, PA
0.64
15.2
96
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Linn Run, PA
1.97
15.3
98
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Balswin Ck, PA
1.97
15.5
87
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Delaware Bay
1.83
12.65
86
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Delaware Bay
2.96
12.65
77
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Delaware Inland
0.16
11.56
98
Model Results
1.47- 2.93 8.85-11.08
1. Gardner et al., 1996
2. Alexander et al. 2000
3. Turner et al. 2000
71-86
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 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Tier 4
Remote
Sensing
Extensive
Inventory
Condition
Sample
Intensive
Site
Land cover
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Leaf area
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Disturbance
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X*
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Litterfall
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Soil CO2 flux
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Methane flux
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DOC
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Live biomass
NEE
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* 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
Tier 3 Pilot Test Locations
FS Flux Tower
Other Flux Tower
Potential New FS Flux Tower
Potential New FS Biometric Site
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:
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New variables or enhanced variables?
Estimation methods for multi-phase inventories?
Linking P1/P2/P3 with research sites (P4/P5)?
Others?