• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.35-44
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• 2015

Forests contain a huge amount of carbon (C) and climate change could affect forest C dynamics. This study was conducted to predict the C dynamics of Pinus densiflora and Quercus variabilis forests, which are the most dominant needleleaf and broadleaf forests in Korea, using the Korean Forest Soil Carbon (KFSC) model under the two climate change scenarios (2012-2100; Constant Temperature (CT) scenario and Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 scenario). To construct simulation unit, the forest land areas for those two species in the 5th National Forest Inventory (NFI) data were sorted by administrative district and stand age class. The C pools were initialized at 2012, and any disturbance was not considered during the simulation period. Although the forest C stocks of two species generally increased over time, the forest C stocks under the RCP 8.5 scenario were less than those stocks under the CT scenario. The C stocks of P. densiflora forests increased from 260.4 Tg C in 2012 to 395.3 (CT scenario) or 384.1 Tg C (RCP 8.5 scenario) in 2100. For Q. variabilis forests, the C stocks increased from 124.4 Tg C in 2012 to 219.5 (CT scenario) or 204.7 (RCP 8.5 scenario) Tg C in 2100. Compared to 5th NFI data, the initial value of C stocks in dead organic matter C pools seemed valid. Accordingly, the annual C sequestration rates of the two species over the simulation period under the RCP 8.5 scenario (65.8 and $164.2g\;C\;m^{-2}\;yr^{-1}$ for P. densiflora and Q. variabilis) were lower than those values under the CT scenario (71.1 and $193.5g\;C\;m^{-2}\;yr^{-1}$ for P. densiflora and Q. variabilis). We concluded that the C sequestration potential of P. densiflora and Q. variabilis forests could be decreased by climate change. Although there were uncertainties from parameters and model structure, this study could contribute to elucidating the C dynamics of South Korean forests in future.

• Journal of Korean Society for Geospatial Information Science
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.39-48
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• 2011

Global warming causes the climate change and makes severe damage to ecosystem and civilization Carbon dioxide greatly contributes to global warming, thus many studies have been conducted to estimate the forest biomass carbon stock as an important carbon storage. However, more studies are required for the selection and use of technique and remotely sensed data suitable for the carbon stock estimation in Korea In this study, the aboveground forest biomass carbon stocks of Danyang-Gun in South Korea was estimated using $k$NN($k$-Nearest Neighbor) algorithm and regression model, then the results were compared. The Landsat TM and 5th NFI(National Forest Inventory) data were prepared, and ratio images, which are effective in topographic effect correction and distinction of forest biomass, were also used. Consequently, it was found that $k$NN algorithm was better than regression model to estimate the forest carbon stocks in Danyang-Gun, and there was no significant improvement in terms of accuracy for the use of ratio images.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.150-158
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• 2019

Exotic conifer trees have been extensively planted in southern China because of their high apparent growth and yield. These fast-growing plantations are expected to persist as a considerable potential for temporary and long-term carbon sink to offset greenhouse gas emissions. However, information on the carbon storage across different age ranges in exotic pine plantations is often lacking. We first estimated the ecosystem carbon storage across different age ranges of exotic pine plantations in China by quantifying above- and below-ground ecosystem carbon pools. The carbon storage of each tree component of exotic pine (Pinus elliottii) increased significantly with increasing age in Duchang and Yiyang areas. The stem carbon storage except <10 years in Ji'an areas was the largest component among all other components, which accounts for about 50% of the total carbon storage followed by roots (~28%), branches (~18%), and foliage (~9%). The mean total tree carbon storage of slash pine plantations for <10, 10-20 and 20-30 years across three study areas was 3.69, 13.91 and $20.57Mg\;ha^{-1}$, respectively. The carbon stocks in understory and forest floor were age-independent. Total tree and soil were two dominant carbon pools in slash pine plantations at all age sequences. The carbon contribution of aboveground ecosystem increased with increasing age, while that of belowground ecosystem declined. The mean total ecosystem carbon storage of slash pine plantations for <10, 10-20 and 20-30 years across China was 30.26, 98.66 and $98.89Mg\;ha^{-1}$, respectively. Although subtropical climate in China was suitable for slash pine growth, the mean total carbon stocks in slash pine plantations at all age sequences from China were lower than that values reported in American slash pine plantations.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.319-330
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• 2015

This study was carried out to predict the optimal growth site and estimate carbon stocks of Quercus acuta, evergreen broad-leaved trees in warm temperate zone according to climate change. The criterion for the optimal site prediction was created by quantification method with quantitative and qualitative data, collected from growth factors of stands and environmental factors of survey sites of 42 plots in Q. acuta by study relationship between growth of tree and site environmental factors. A program for the optimal site prediction was developed by using GIS engine tools. To prediction of the suitable growth site of Quercus acuta, developed program in this study applied to Wando in Jeollanam-do, distributing a various evergreen bread-leaved trees of warm temperate zone. In the results from analysis of the optimal site prediction on Q. acuta, the characteristics of the optimal site showed as follows; site environmental features of class I (the best site class for Q. acuta) was defined as 401 ~ 500 m of altitude, $21{\sim}25^{\circ}$ of slope with above hillside, residual of deposit convex of slope type with west of aspect. The area and carbon stocks of optimal site prediction by class for Q. acuta in classI showed 147.1 ha (2.5%), total 316.5 tC/ha, total $1,161tCO_2/ha/yr$ of class I, 2,703.5 ha (46.3%), total 5,817.4 tC/ha, total $21,331tCO_2/ha/yr$ of class II, 2,845.5 ha (48.6%), total 6,123.0 tC/ha, total $2,845.5tCO_2/ha/yr$ of class III and 153.7 ha (2.6%), total 330.7 tC/ha, total $1,213.7tCO_2/ha/yr$ of class IV.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.385-391
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• 2017

This study was conducted to estimate litter carbon stock change from the National Forest Inventory (NFI) data for national greenhouse gas inventory report. Litter carbon stocks were calculated from the NFI dataset in NFI5 (2008) and NFI6 (2013) in Gangwon province. Total carbon stock change of litter was $0.68{\pm}0.71\;t\;C/ha$ from NFI5 (2008) to NFI6 (2013), however, there was no significant difference between the both dataset at 2008 and 2013 year. Litter carbon stock of coniferous stands was higher than deciduous stands in NFI5 (2008) and NFI6 (2013) (P<0.05). This study was limited to pilot study, so we will assess litter carbon stock using more complete data from NFI systems. It can be used as data sources for national greenhouse gas inventory report on forest sector.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.110 no.4
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• pp.569-576
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• 2021

This study developed an estimation model for litterfall input using the stand parameters (basal area, stand density, mean DBH, and carbon stocks of the aboveground tree biomass) collected from the Korean red pine (Pinus densiflora S. et Z.) stands of seven regions in Gyeongsangnam-do. The mean annual litterfall was 2,779 kg ha^-1 year^-1 for needles, 883 kg ha^-1 year^-1 for miscellaneous, 611 kg ha^-1 year^-1 for broadleaved, 513 kg ha^-1 year^-1 for branches, and 340 kg ha^-1 year^-1 for bark litter. The mean annual total litterfall was 5,051 kg ha^-1 year^-1. Litterfall components were significantly correlated with stand parameters, except for broadleaved litter. A stronger correlation was observed between the carbon stock of the aboveground tree biomass and all the litterfall components compared with the other stand variables. The allometric equations for all the litterfall components were significant (P < 0.05), with the stand parameters accounting for 5%-43% and 8%-42% of the variation in the needle litter and total litterfall, respectively. The results indicated that the annual litterfall inputs of the Korean red pine stands on a regional scale can be effectively estimated by allometric equations using the basal area and carbon stocks of the aboveground tree biomass.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.259-268
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• 2012

This paper aims to estimate the carbon dioxide stocks in forests using airborne LiDAR data with a density of approximate 4.4 points per meter square. To achieve this goal, a processing chain consisting of bare earth Digital Terrain Model(DTM) extraction and individual tree top detection has been developed. As results of this experiment, the reliable DTM with type-II errors of 3.32% and tree positions with overall accuracy of 66.26% were extracted in the study area. The total estimated carbon dioxide stocks in the study area using extracted 3-D forests structures well suited with the traditional method by field measurements upto 7.2% error level. This results showed that LiDAR technology is highly valuable for replacing the existing forest resources inventory.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.159-164
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• 2008

Forest inventory is a commercial term meaning the preparation of detailed descriptive list of articles with number, quantity and value of each item included. Forest inventory deals with the measurement of trees and stands, the estimation of their volume, growth prediction, biomass, carbon stocks and the description tree characteristics, as well as the land upon which they are growing. National Forest Inventory Center (NFIC) in Korea conducts national forest inventory every 5 years to obtain accurate baseline data for national forest policy. The permanent sample plot data used in were collected by NFI. The objective of this study was to develop methods for quantifying forest resources at national scale based on $5^{th}$ National Forest Inventory (NFI) data in Korea. Forest land area decreased from 6.44 to 6.38 million ha between 1997 and 2007, continuing a slight downward trend in area beginning in the late 1990s. However forest resources of the Korea have continued improving in general condition and quality, as measured by increased average size and volume of trees. Growing-stock volume of the Korea increased from 17 to 123.79 cubic meter per ha between 1976 and 2007. The biomass in Korea was estimated to be 153.81 tons per hectare and carbon stocks in Korea was estimated to be 84.36 tons per hectare by NFI data. This information is important for government officials, public administration, the private business sector, and the researcher. Forest Inventory should be implemented in a way to be able to monitor and assess the forests continuously.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 2017

Background: In order to investigate organic carbon distribution, carbon budget, and cycling of the subalpine forest, we studied biomass, organic carbon distribution, litter production, forest floor litter, accumulated soil organic carbon, and soil respiration in Taxus cuspidata forest in Halla National Park from February 2012 to November 2013. Biomass was calculated by using allometric equation and the value was converted to $CO_2$ stocks. Results: The amount of plant organic carbon was $13.60ton\;C\;ha^{-1}year^{-1}$ in 2012 and $14.29ton\;C\;ha^{-1}year^{-1}$ in 2013. And average organic carbon introduced to forest floor through litter production was $0.71ton\;C\;ha^{-1}year^{-1}$. Organic carbon distributed in forest floor litter layer was $0.73ton\;C\;ha^{-1}year^{-1}$ on average and accumulated organic carbon in soil was $51.13ton\;C\;ha^{-1}year^{-1}$ on average. In 2012, Amount of released $CO_2$ from soil to atmosphere was 10.93 ton $CO_2ha^{-1}year^{-1}$. Conclusions: The net ecosystem production based on the difference between net primary production of organic carbon and soil respiration was $-1.74ton\;C\;ha^{-1}year^{-1}$ releasing more carbon than it absorbed.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.91-103
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• 2021

We conducted an analysis of agroforestry system efficiency to conserve biodiversity in the Mbalmayo Forest Reserve (MFR) between March 2018 and June 2018. A synthesis of forest fragmentation data observed on multiple strata and scale satellite imageries over 31 years, between 1987 and 2018 as well as, the use of both a floristic and a faunal surveys, revealed that although 29.28% of natural forests was fragmented and converted to agroforests landscapes, banana and cocoa based agroforest appeared to perform the most relevant records in carbon storage and to attract wild terrestrial and avifauna. Analysis of NDVI, NDWI and Iron Oxyde helped monitor the vegetation cover of the reserve, and differentiate natural and fragmented classes, majority of conserved forest wetlands and agroforestry systems, and a minority of natural dryland forest. Further analysis also revealed significant correlations between NDVI and Shannon Index, and between NDVI and carbon stock. Based on the NDVI value and the equation Y=3.827×X-1.587 (where Y for the carbon stocks and X for NDVI value), we estimated the total carbon stock of the forest reserve at about 99557.6 tonnes, and its mean value at about 8.491 tons/ha. Nevertheless, environmental efforts to sustainably manage agroforestry landscape appear to be a relevant key to conserve wild biodiversity and mitigate climate change at the level of the Mbalmayo Forest Reserve. If anthropogenic activities have deeply changed the reserve's natural landscape, reduced its carbon sequestration performance, and wildlife conservation status, forest wetlands appear to remain its most conserved places and the best refuge for wild fauna still occurring in diverse strata of the MFR.