feasibility of systematic forest biodiversity monitoring at...

JRC on 9 November 2009 – Biosoil Conference 1

Forest Information. The European Forest Data Centre (EFDAC)

Feasibility of systematic forest biodiversity monitoring at European scale:

Results of the Biosoil Biodiversity survey

Jesús San-Miguel & Tracy Durrant Houston

http://forest.jrc.ec.europa.eu/

JRC on 9 November 2009 – Biosoil Conference Brussels 2

Context for the development of EFDAC

CONTEXTCONTEXT

Technical arrangement on Data Centres (November 2005) ENV,JRC, ESTAT and EEA ("Group of 4“) for the establishment of Environmental Data Centres to share responsibilities, enhance collaboration and coordination

JRC: European Forest Data Centre (EFDAC) and European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC)EEA: Air, Climate change, Water, Biodiversity and Land use DCESTAT: Waste, Natural resources and Integrated product policy DC

Forest Action Plan for the implementation of the EU Forestry Strategy (Key Action 8) (Nov. 2005)

INSPIRE Directive (May 2007)

Shared Environmental Information System (SEIS Com. Feb. 2008)

European Forest Data Center (EFDAC) Implementation Plan 2007-2009


Objectives of EFDAC

OBJECTIVESOBJECTIVES

Establishment of EFDAC as the focal point for forestry information at the EU level.

Storage and analysis of European forestry datasets (resources, condition, fires, …)

Provision of timely, relevant and reliable data and information to policy makers for sound knowledge-based decision making.

Contribution to the enhancement of collection, management and dissemination of data and information


Level I Crown Condition

Level I Soil

Level IFoliar Analysis

Level II Database

MeteorologicalContinuous

Soil Inventory10 Year

DepositionContinuous

Vegetation5 Year

Foliage2 Year

Crown Condition1 Year

Increment5 Year

Common EU Forest Data Platform

Soil SolutionContinuous

Commission Services Scientific Community General Public

Intranet Extranet Internet

Registration, Username/Password

Public Access to aggregated data

Dedicated Access

Full validated datasets – forest condition (all surveys from 1987 to 2006)Biosoil – 22 countries soil survey and 19 countries biodiversity survey

•Biosoil biodiversity data (approx. 3379 plots)

EU Forest Focus (forest condition) database

JRC on 9 November 2009 – Biosoil Conference 5

FireDetection

Danger Forecast

Burnt area maps

Potential soil erosionestimates

Vegetationregeneration

Forest fire events

Emission assessment

CORINECode

CORINE Class Non-BurnedArea (ha)

BurnedArea (ha)

% Burned

112 DISCONTINUOUS URBAN FABRIC 109878 42 0.0%211 NON-IRRIGATED ARABLE LAND 1194065 6990 0.6%212 PERMANENTLY IRRIGATED LAND 682939 403 0.1%221 VINEYARDS 134274 2843 2.1%222 FRUIT TREES AND BERRY

PLANTATIONS123157 1398 1.1%

223 OLIVE GROVES 518360 2421 0.5%241 ANNUAL CROPS ASSOCIATED WITH

PERMANENT CROPS16563 10 0.1%

242 COMPLEX CULTIVATION PATTERNS 1007677 5040 0.5%243 LAND PRINCIPALLY OCCUPIED BY

AGRICULTURE, WITH SIGNIFICANTAREAS OF NATURAL VEGETATION

773877 11269 1.4%

244 AGRO-FORESTRY AREAS 164627 2314 1.4%311 BROAD-LEAVED FOREST 840208 1006 0.1%312 CONIFEROUS FOREST 526430 3812 0.7%313 MIXED FOREST 573425 3930 0.7%321 NATURAL GRASSLAND 1247403 6448 0.5%322 MOORS AND HEATHLAND 260835 1628 0.6%323 SCLEROPHYLLOUS VEGETATION 2070419 25793 1.2%324 TRANSITIONAL WOODLAND-SHRUB 1044180 5266 0.5%331 BEACHES, DUNES, AND SAND PLAINS 31072 68 0.2%332 BARE ROCK 22903 59 0.3%333 SPARSELY VEGETATED AR EAS 249691 437 0.2%334 BURNT AREAS 19081 2102 9.9%

UNCLASSIFIED FOREST SU RFACES 1371987 17445 1.3%TOTAL 12983050 100724 0.8%

Land cover damage assessment

European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS)


European Forest Fire Information System

http://effis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/


List of Tree species per plot

European Forest Resources Information System

Data from: FAO, MCPFE, Member States, JRC datasets, Framework Contract (E-forest consortium)

area representation

Plot representation

Grid indicator calculation

Interpolation or smoothing

Plot representation

Spatial representation

Grid representation

Spatial representation

area indicator calculation

maillage50x50maillage50x50-dat.VHA_AVG

0,0000 - 40

40,0001 - 75

75,0001 - 150

150,0001 - 200

200,0001 - 270

270,0001 - 350

350,0001 - 362,7323

Interpolation or smoothing

Legend

: complexity ++: complexity +: complexity -

E-Forest consortium (NFIs)

JRC EFDAC Framework Contract

Plot indicator calculationTree species selection


European Forest FireInformation System (EFFIS)

European Forest Data Centre (EFDAC)

• Data Sets at JRC• Applications at JRC• Services at JRC

-----------------Related:• Documents• Projects• Links

MetadataCatalogue

Forest Focus database + BIOSOIL datasets(forest condition, forest fragmentation)

http://efdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/

European Forest ResourcesInformation System (NFI data platform)

Forest and forest type maps

1990

2000


Overall objectives of the BIOSOIL – Biodiversity

• Conduct a demonstration study to collect harmonised information relevant to forest biodiversity at the European level and demonstrate the use of the Level 1 network in this context;

• Present a European forest type classification of the Level 1 plots and provide a first attempt of habitat classification of the forests of Europe;

• Test selected, internationally recognised, robust and practical indicators of forest biodiversity on a large scale survey thereby to develop a practical methodology as a manual;

• Establish an improved common baseline framework to integrate other information and ongoing projects (including the soil initiative of BioSoil) on forest biodiversity to achieve maximum added value;

• Design a multi-scale hierarchical approach to quantify European forest biodiversity and monitor changes over time and space.


The plot is circular and is divided into three subplots: an outer subplot with a radius of 25.24 m (2000 m2) and 2 circular subplots with fixed radii of 3.09 m (30 m2) and 11.28 m (400 m2).

The plot location is related to the Level I Crown Condition survey trees and the BioSoil soil pit.

Coarse woody debris, snags, stumps, ground vegetation and canopy characteristics are measured in subplots 1 and 2 (total sampling area 400 m2).

Tree species and DBH (diameter at breast height 130 cm) are recorded across the entire plot.1 2 3

Plot layout


Collected data

• General plot characteristics: location, altitude, management, forest type etc (GPL file)

• Stand structure and composition: Tree species, DBH, height, density (DBH, THT and CAN files)

• Deadwood: Type, dimensions, state of decay (DWD file)

• Ground vegetation: species, cover (VEG file)


Timetable

Field assessments: Plots assessed

0100200300400500600700

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

2006 2007 2008 2009

Databasedesign

Data validation

Data submission deadline

Data Submission/resubmission

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48

Analysis

Initial data submissionResubmission/correction


Data submission and validation process

Test Database

Validation tests

Validationreport

Validationreport Values confirmed

Resubmission

Evaluation Database

THTTHTDWDDWDGPLGPL

GVGGVGCANCANDBHDBH

Load data

Load validated data

YES

NO

All tests passed/confirmed

Analysis


Data submission and validation process

Submission attempts

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Number of submissions

Num

ber o

f cou

ntrie

s

GPLDBHTHTDWDCANGVG


Results

General plot information

Location (EAST, NORTH)ElevationOrientationSlopePrevious land useOrigin of the standManagementForest typeDeadwood removalMixtureAge classFencingEuropean Forest Type Classification

3379 plots19 countries(27 competent bodies)



EFTC

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Null

NullBoreal forestHemiboreal & nemoral Scots pine forestAlpine coniferous forestAtlantic/nemoral oak/ashwoods, dune forestOak-hornbeam forestBeech forestMontaneous beech forestThermophilous deciduous forestBroadleaved evergreen forestConif. forests of Med, Anatolian & MacronesiaSwamp forestFloodplain forestNative plantations Exotic plantations and woodlands

Distribution of scores



Atlantic and nemoral oakwoods, Atlantic

ashwoods and dune forest 3%

Broadleavedevergreen forest 2%

Floodplain forest1%

Boreal forest18%

Hemiboreal andnemoral Scots pine

forest 12%

Unknown12%

Beech forest9%

Alpine coniferous forest8%

Exotic plantations and woodlands

8%

Oak-hornbeam forest7%

Thermophilousdeciduous forest 6%

Montaneous beechforest 4%

Swamp forest4%

Native plantations3%

Coniferous forests of the Mediterranean, Anatolian

and Macaronesian regions 3%

Forest types - EFTC


0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Irregular Unknown


Age Class


No information/Unknown1: 0-20 years2: 21-40 years3: 41-60 years4: 61-80 years5: 81-100 years

7: >120 years8: Irregular stands

6: 100-120 years


General plot information - Comment

Opportunity for integrating other information:Soil component of BiosoilLI information (Plots are mostly - but not entirely - located at Level I sites)

Some missing information (eg 2 countries did not report EFTC score)

No consistent protocol for reporting East/North –time consuming to harmonise


Results

Stand structure and species composition

102943 DBH measurements12947 tree height measurements

8065 Canopy scores (subplot level)

Tree status (living/dead)Tree speciesDBHTree height (subset of trees)Base of canopy layer (subset of trees)Canopy closure scoreNumber of trees in plot



Average number of species per plot

0.01.02.03.04.05.0

AT BE CY CZ DK FI FR DE HU IE IT LV LT PL SK SI ES SE UK

Average number of trees per plot

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

AT BE CY CZ DK FI FR DE HU IE IT LV LT PL SK SI ES SE UK



1-2 species3-4 species5-6 species7-9 species10-13 species

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1-2 3-4 5-6 7-9 10-13


Species richness



0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

0 >0 - 0.2 >0.2 - 0.4 >0.4 - 0.6 >0.6 - 0.8 >0.8 - 1


Simpson Index

>0-0.2>0.2-0.4>0.4-0.6>0.6-0.8>0.8-1

0


Stand structure and species composition - Comment

There were some problems with units – whole cm not precise enough for some measurements –some numbers rounded down to zero

Inconsistent use of subplots

Some problems with matching information between files – consider redesigning data form

CAN data form seemed to be poorly understood


Results

Deadwood

Deadwood typeDeadwood species classDeadwood mid-diameterDeadwood lengthDeadwood decay class

42599 deadwood measurements


Deadwood

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

AT

BE

CY

CZ

DK

FI

FR

DE

HU

IE

IT

LV

LT

PL

SK

SI

ES

SE

UK

Standing deadwoodLying woody debrisUnknown /Other

253

13137

2771 2616

23662

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

Standing deadwood Lying debris Unknown/Other

CountryNo of plots

Standing deadwood

Lying woody debris

Unknown /Other Total

Average count per

plotAT 128 1623 553 0 2176 17.0BE 10 64 109 0 173 17.3CY 17 17 113 35 165 9.7CZ 142 2818 926 28 3772 26.6DK 6 0 9 0 9 1.5FI 630 5828 989 53 6870 10.9FR 504 2318 4330 0 6648 13.2DE 251 3340 2130 1 5471 21.8HU 74 994 318 0 1312 17.7IE 35 512 106 15 633 18.1IT 179 898 2661 13 3572 20.0LV 95 646 536 7 1189 12.5LT 58 480 166 0 646 11.1PL 436 3965 675 28 4668 10.7SK 104 961 569 7 1537 14.8SI 40 238 222 0 460 11.5ES 152 444 338 61 843 5.5SE 86 545 295 0 840 9.8UK 121 742 708 5 1455 12.0Total 3068 26433 15753 253 42439 13.8

Snag

Stump

Coarse

Fine


Deadwood - comments

If deadwood dimensions (length/diameter) are recorded, the deadwood class can be simplified to 2 categories: Standing and Lying. The other attributes are defined by the measurements.


Results

Ground vegetation

Ground vegetation speciesGround vegetation layer class% cover

101912 ground vegetation measurements


Ground vegetation

1-20 species21-40 species41-60 species61-80 species81-111 species

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

1-20 21-40 41-60 61-80 81-111


Species richness


GVG Cover scores

Country Name Type Cover scores used in GVG data France Class 0,25,50,75,100 Belgium (Flanders) Class 0,1,2,4,5,8,13,20,30,50,60,90,98 Italy Percentage 0.01-100 (some plots conversion from BB score) United Kingdom Class 5,10,15,20,50,75 Ireland - -none- Denmark - -none- Spain Class 5% classes Sweden - -no GVG data- Austria - -none- Finland - -none- Hungary - -none- Poland Score conversion 0.1, 1, 2.5, 15, 37.5, 62.5, 87.5 Slovak Republic Percentage 0.01-100 Lithuania - -none- Czech Republic Score conversion 0.01, 0.5, 2.5, 10, 20, 37.5, 62.5, 87.5 Slovenia Score conversion 0.01, 0.5, 2, 4, 8.8, 18.8, 37.5, 62.5, 87.5 Latvia - -none- Cyprus - -none- Canaries (Spain) Class 2,3,5,then 5% classes Germany (Baden-Württemberg) Score conversion? 3,10,20,38,63,88 Germany (Bavaria) Score conversion? 0.1, 0.5, 2,3,4,10,20,31.75, 43.75, 62.5, 82.5 Germany (Brandenburg-Berlin) Percentage 0-100 Germany (Hessen) Class 0.5, 1,2,3,4,5,6,8,10, then 5% classes Germany (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) Percentage 1-100 Germany (Niedersachsen) Class 1,2,3,4,5,8,10,12,15, then 5% classes Germany (NRW) Class 0.0.5, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,10, then 5% classes (except 1x83, 1x87) Germany (Rheinland Pfalz) Class 1,2,3,4,5,8,10,12,15, then 5% classes (except 1x77) Germany (Saarland) - -no GVG data-


Ground Vegetation - comments

Species identification- new species- incompletely identified or unknown species

Species cover score – inconsistent

Effect of different size/shape subplot

Non-homogenous plots


Next steps

• Thorough evaluation and analysis of the data

• Publication of results of data analysis in EFDAC

• Publication of summary datasets in EFDAC

• Production of the BIOSOIL-Biodiversity final report

• Integrated analysis with other European datasets


Questions?Questions?


Thank you for your attention !