%0 Research article
%T Quantifying tree biomass carbon stocks, their changes and uncertainties using routine stand taxation inventory data
%A Wutzler, Thomas
%A Profft, Ingolf
%A Mund, Martina
%D 2011
%J Silva Fennica
%V 45
%N 3
%R doi:10.14214/sf.449
%U https://silvafennica.fi/article/449
%X For carbon (C) trading or any other verifiable C reports, it would be  reasonable to identify and quantify continuous changes in carbon stocks  at regional scales without high investments into additional C-specific,  time- and labor-intensive inventories. Our study demonstrates the  potential of using routine stand taxation data from large scale forestry  inventories for verifiable quantification of tree biomass C stocks, C  stock change rates, and associated uncertainties. Empirical models,  parameters, and equations of uncertainty propagation have been assembled  and applied to data from a forest management unit in Central Germany  (550 000 ha), using stand taxation inventories collected between 1993  and 2006. The study showed: 1) The use of stand taxation data resulted  in a verifiable and sufficiently precise (cv = 7%) quantification of  tree biomass carbon stocks and their changes at the level of  growth-regions (1700 to 140 000 ha). 2) The forest of the test region  accumulated carbon in tree biomass at a mean annual rate of 1.8 (–0.9 to  4.5) tC/ha/yr over the studied period. 3) The taxation inventory data  can reveal spatial patterns of rates of C stock changes, specifically  low rates of 0.4 tC/ha/yr in the northwest and high rates of 3.0  tC/ha/yr in the south of the study region.