Integrating FIA with Other Research Activities The Delaware River Basin Project & The North American Carbon Program Richard Birdsey Program Manager Global Change Research

Land cover and physiographic provinces in the Delaware River Basin The Delaware River Basin Collaborative Environmental Monitoring and Research Initiative (CEMRI) Monitoring at Multiple Scales to Link Processes and Observations

The Delaware River Basin Collaborative 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 ServiceUSDI 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 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.

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 1 Remote Sensing Tier 2 Extensive Inventory Tier 3 Condition Sample Tier 4 Intensive Site Land coverXXXX Leaf areaXXXX DisturbanceXXXX* Live biomassXXX LitterfallXX Soil CO 2 fluxXX Methane fluxXX DOCXX NEEX * 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 Tower Other Flux Tower Potential New FS Flux Tower Potential 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 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?