Carbon sequestration and environmental effects of afforestation with Pinus radiata D. Don in the Western Cape, South Africa

A three-step methodology to assess the carbon sequestration and the environmental impact of afforestation projects in the framework of the Flexible Mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol (Joint Implementation and Clean Development Mechanism) was developed and tested using a dataset collected from the Jonkershoek forest plantation, Western Cape, South Africa, which was established with Pinus radiata in former native fynbos vegetation and indigenous forest. The impact of a change in land use was evaluated for a multifunctional, a production and a non-conversion scenario. First, the carbon balance was modelled with GORCAM and was expressed as (1) C sequestration in tC ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ in soil, litter, and living biomass according to the rules of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, and (2) CO₂ emission reductions in tC ha⁻¹ year⁻¹, which includes carbon sequestered in the above-mentioned pools and additionally in wood products, as well as emission reductions due to fossil fuel substitution. To estimate forest growth, three data sources were used: (1) inventory data, (2) growth simulation with a process-based model, and (3) yield tables. Second, the effects of land use change were assessed for different project scenarios using a method related to Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The method uses 17 quantitative indicators to describe the impact of project activities on water, soil, vegetation cover and biodiversity. Indicator scores were calculated by comparing indicator values with reference values, estimated for the climax vegetation. The climax vegetation is the site-specific ecosystem phase with the highest exergy content and the highest exergy flow dissipation capacity. Third, the land use impact per functional unit of 1 tC sequestered was calculated by combining the results of step 1 and step 2. The average baselines to obtain carbon additionality are 476 tC ha⁻¹ for indigenous forest and 32 tC ha⁻¹ for fynbos. Results show that the influence of the growth assessment method on the magnitude of C sequestration and hence on the environmental impact per functional unit is large. When growth rate is assessed with the mechanistic model and with the yield table, it is overestimated in the early years and underestimated in the long term. The main conclusion of the scenario analysis is that the production forest scenario causes higher impacts per functional unit than the multifunctional scenario, but with the latter being less efficient in avoiding CO₂ emissions. The proposed method to assess impacts on diverse components of the ecosystem is able to estimate the general tendency of the adverse and positive effects of each scenario. However, some indicators, more specifically about biodiversity and water balance, could be improved or reinterpreted in light of specific local data about threat to biodiversity and water status.     

Detecting peatland drains with Object Based Image Analysis and Geoeye-1 imagery

Background

Peatlands play an important role in the global carbon cycle. They provide important ecosystem services including carbon sequestration and storage. Drainage disturbs peatland ecosystem services. Mapping drains is difficult and expensive and their spatial extent is, in many cases, unknown. An object based image analysis (OBIA) was performed on a very high resolution satellite image (Geoeye-1) to extract information about drain location and extent on a blanket peatland in Ireland. Two accuracy assessment methods: Error matrix and the completeness, correctness and quality (CCQ) were used to assess the extracted data across the peatland and at several sub sites. The cost of the OBIA method was compared with manual digitisation and field survey. The drain maps were also used to assess the costs relating to blocking drains vs. a business-as-usual scenario and estimating the impact of each on carbon fluxes at the study site.

Results

The OBIA method performed well at almost all sites. Almost 500 km of drains were detected within the peatland. In the error matrix method, overall accuracy (OA) of detecting the drains was 94% and the kappa statistic was 0.66. The OA for all sub-areas, except one, was 95–97%. The CCQ was 85%, 85% and 71% respectively. The OBIA method was the most cost effective way to map peatland drains and was at least 55% cheaper than either field survey or manual digitisation, respectively. The extracted drain maps were used constrain the study area CO₂ flux which was 19% smaller than the prescribed Peatland Code value for drained peatlands.

Conclusions

The OBIA method used in this study showed that it is possible to accurately extract maps of fine scale peatland drains over large areas in a cost effective manner. The development of methods to map the spatial extent of drains is important as they play a critical role in peatland carbon dynamics. The objective of this study was to extract data on the spatial extent of drains on a blanket bog in the west of Ireland. The results show that information on drain extent and location can be extracted from high resolution imagery and mapped with a high degree of accuracy. Under Article 3.4 of the Kyoto Protocol Annex 1 parties can account for greenhouse gas emission by sources and removals by sinks resulting from “wetlands drainage and rewetting”. The ability to map the spatial extent, density and location of peatlands drains means that Annex 1 parties can develop strategies for drain blocking to aid reduction of CO₂ emissions, DOC runoff and water discoloration. This paper highlights some uncertainty around using one-size-fits-all emission factors for GHG in drained peatlands and re-wetting scenarios. However, the OBIA method is robust and accurate and could be used to assess the extent of drains in peatlands across the globe aiding the refinement of peatland carbon dynamics .

     

A theory of local formation of isotopic anomalies in meteorites

The consequences of a postulated collision between planets in the early solar system have been investigated. At least one of the planets has been taken with a D/H ratio similar to that of Venus (0.016) and the temperature of the collision interface (3 × 10⁶ K) triggers chain reactions in near-surface material beginning with D-D reactions. The initial composition of the reacting material is consistent with a silicate + ices surface and a hydrogen-helium-inert gas atmosphere. The reaction chain contains 284 reactions, plus reverse reactions, and 40 radioactive decay processes. When the pressure in the reacting region is sufficiently high the colliding planets are blown apart and the highly-processed material at the heart of the explosion mixes with less processed and unprocessed material from cooler parts of the system. Mixtures of materials are found to explain isotopic anomalies associated with oxygen, magnesium, neon, silicon, carbon and nitrogen. The local production of isotopic anomalies avoids the problems associated with other suggested explanations - in particular the observation of neon E, almost pure²²Ne, assumed as the product of the decay of²²Na with a half-life of 2.6 years.     

Well Conditioning in a Fluvial Reservoir Model

This paper describes a method for conditioning an object model of a fluvial reservoir on facies observations. The channels are assumed parametrized at sections normal to their main channel direction. Projections of the observations on these sections generates a map suitable for drawing conditioning values. This map contains the information from every facies observation between two adjacent sections, enabling handling of any well path. Coupling between well observations is also discussed. The methodology is implemented and demonstrated in examples with complex wells.     

The impact of climate change on archaeological resources in Britain: a catchment scale assessment

This paper illustrates the potential impact of future climate change on the archaeological resource of river catchments, specifically in Britain, but with reference to other examples across the globe, when considering issues of generic applicability. It highlights an area of the environmental record often neglected by policy makers and environmental planners when considering the impact of climate change; where cultural heritage has been considered in the past, an emphasis has been placed on the historic built environment and major monuments. Through studying the recent past, particularly the last 1,000 years, geomorphologists and geoarchaeologists can add much empirical data to these debates concerning system response. In addition to the impact of the changing intensity and pattern of natural geomorphic processes, human response to climate change ranging from new farming practices through to the implementation of mitigation strategies to minimise the effects of increased flood frequency and magnitude could be equally as damaging to the archaeological record if not managed through informed decision making.     

Morphological change of natural pipe outlets in blanket peat

Peatlands are important carbon stores and many have natural pipes (tunnels) that transport water and carbon. Pipes are often viewed as passive and slowly changing features of peatland landscapes, particularly for sites that are relatively undisturbed by land management. However, there is a lack of data on pipe morphology change over time. This paper presents the first survey of natural pipe outlets in a peatland in which morphological changes in pipe outlets through time were measured. Three surveys of natural pipe outlets between 2007 and 2010 were conducted in a 17.4 ha, relatively undisturbed, blanket‐peat‐covered catchment in northern England. 27 of the 91 pipe outlets mapped in the first survey had perennial discharge and these outlets were significantly larger and shallower than those from ephemerally‐flowing pipes. The cross‐sectional area of 85% of pipe outlets changed (increased or decreased) during the study, with 20% of pipe outlet areas changing by more than 50 cm² (equivalent to a median 207 % change in area for this upper fifth of pipes) up to a maximum of 312 cm² for one pipe outlet. During the study, 18 pipe outlets completely infilled, while four new ones appeared. Mean pipe outlet area increased between August 2007 and July 2009 but decreased from July 2009 to April 2010. The largest changes in pipe morphology occurred between July 2009 and April 2010, which spanned the coldest winter for 31 years in the UK. During this period there was a significant increase in the proportion of vertically‐elongated pipes and a decrease in the proportion of circular pipes. Pipe outlet morphology in blanket peat catchments is shown to be dynamic and may respond relatively quickly to changes in flow or extreme events, linked to short‐term changes in weather and hence potentially to longer‐term changes in climate or land management. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.