Chapter 3
LUCF Sector Good Practice Guidance
Gert-Jan Nabuurs (The Netherlands), N.H. Ravindranath (India), Annette
Freibauer (Germany), Bill Hohenstein (USA), Willy Makundi(Tanzania), Keith
Paustian (USA)
Harald Aalde (Norway), Abdelazim Yassin Abdelgadir (Sudan), Anwar
Sheikhaddin Abdu Khalil (Bahrain), James Barton (New Zealand), Kathryn
Bickel (USA), Samsudin Bin-Musa (Malaysia), Dominique Blain (Canada),
Rizaldi Boer ( Indonesia), Kenneth Byrne (Ireland), Carlos Cerri (Brazil,
Lorenzo Ciccarese (Italy), David-Cruz Choque (Bolivia), Eric Duchemin
(Canada), Lucien Dja (Ivory Coast), Justin Ford-Robertson (New Zealand),
Jean-Clause Germon (France), Wojciech Galinski (Poland), Hector Ginzo
(Argentina), Michael Gytarsky (Russian Federation), Linda Heath (USA),
Denis Loustau (France), Tijani Mandouri (Morocco), Josef Mindas (Slovakia),
Kim Pingoud (Finland), John Raison (Australia), Vladimir Savchenko (Belarus),
Risto Sievanen ( Finland), Kenneth Skog (USA), Keith Smith (United
Kingdom), Deying Xu (China)
st
1 Govt Review
Valuable Comments/Suggestions –
Chapter Benefited/Improved
 Have followed the mandate
 Ex. Guidance for HWP, reservoir etc. in the Appendix







Clarified the tier structure and pool definitions
Simplified the BEFs
All gaps completed (forest soils)
Improved default values
Improved linkage with other chapters
Prepared Reporting Tables
Improved linkages/mapping back to 1996 GL;
ensured consistency
CHAPTER UNDER SECOND REVIEW
Main set-up ch 3
Goal: provide guidance for UNFCCC
reporting of LUCF sector
Set up: full land coverage by six main
land use types (forest, crop, grass,
wetland, settlement, other lands)
Consistent with ch 2 (land use type
identification), and ch 4 (reporting
under KP)
Basic features (1)
and how were comments addressed
1. C stock change = area * emission factor (or removal
factor).
2. emissions and removals on managed lands
3. Reporting
annually:
does
not
mean
that
measurements have to be carried out annually.
Basic features (2)
5 LUC’s have a linear impact on soil carbon for 20
years equilibrium
6 Drained peats: considered managed soils, need to
be included under respective LU. The non-CO2
effects: too uncertain (presented in Annex)
7 Natural disturbances on managed lands reported.
If on unmanaged lands but followed by LUC, then
reported as well.
Generic inventory and
reporting steps
1.
Estimate the land areas and changes in land areas;
2. assess key categories and decide tier
3. Collect additional data (if required by the tier) for
improving emission factors, and activity data by the
chosen tier;
4. Estimate the uncertainty in each estimate;
5. Use the reporting tables to report emissions and
removals estimates
6. Document and archive all information used
7. Implement quality control checks and expert review
pools
LIVING
BIOMASS
DEAD
ORGANIC
MATTER
Aboveground
biomass
All living biomass above the soil;
Understorey may be excluded
Belowground
biomass
Biomass of live roots. Fine roots
are often excluded (see litter and
SOM)
Dead
wood
all non-living woody not contained
in the litter, above a chosen
diameter
all non-living plant mass with
woody biomass diameter less than
a chosen diameter, in various
states of decomposition above the
mineral or organic soil in the
forest. Live fine roots are
included
Litter
SOILS
Soil
organic
matter
(SOM)
Includes organic carbon in mineral
and organic soils (including peat)
to a specified depth. Live fine
roots are included
national circumstances may make it necessary to
(slightly) modify the pool definitions
Mapping back to 96GL
Initial
Reporting Year
Time period
Present GPG
1
Section
IPCC Guidelines
Forest land
Cropland
Grassland
Wetland, Settlement, other
land
Forest Land
Forest land
Forest Land
Forest Land
3.2.1
3.2.2
3.2.2
3.2.2
5-A
5-D
5-D
5-D
Cropland
Forest land
Grassland
Wetland, Settlement, other
land
Cropland
Cropland
Cropland
Cropland
3.3.1
3.3.2
3.3.2
3.3.2
5-E
5-B, 5-C, 5-E
5-B, 5-E
5-E, 5-D
Grassland
Forest land
Cropland
Wetland, Settlement, other
land
Grassland
Grassland
Grassland
Grassland
3.4.1
3.4.2
3.4.2
3.4.2
5E
5-B, 5-C
5-D
5-D
Wetland, Settlement, other
land
Forest land
Cropland
Grassland
Wetland, Settlment, other land
3.5.1, 3.6.1, 3.7.1
Wetland, Settlement, other land
Wetland, Settlement, other land
Wetland, Settlement, other land
3.5.2, 3.6.2, 3.7.2
3.5.2, 3.6.2, 3.7.2
3.5.2, 3.6.2, 3.7.2
Forest and grassland
conversion
5-B, 5-C
5-B
2
Tier Structure
 Tier 1
 Employs basic method – Based on Workbook – 1996 IPCC GL
 Improved default values
 Activity data spatially coarse, global/continental database
 Tier 2
 Same methodological approach as Tier 1
 Country-specific activity data/emission or sequestration factors
 Higher spatial resolution for activity data
 Tier 3
 Higher order methods, models, inventory systems, periodic
measurements
 High resolution activity data at disaggregated levels
 Uncertainty estimates prepared
 Linking of biomass and soil carbon dynamics
Forest Land-use CategoryOUTLINE
3.2 Forest land
3.2.1. Forest land remaining forest land
3.2.2 Land converted to Forest land
3.3 Crop land
3.3.2 Land converted into crop land
3.4 Grass land
3.4.2 Land converted into grass land
Example of Treatment of C-pools &
Non-CO2 Gases
3.2.1 Forest land remaining forest land
3.2.1.1 Change in Biomass
3.2.1.2 Changes in C-stocks in dead organic matter pools
- Dead wood - Litter
3.2.1.3 Changes in carbon stocks of soil organic matter
- Mineral Soils, - organic soils
3.2.1.4 Non-CO2 Gases
----------------------------------------------------3.2.3 Completeness
3.2.4 Developing a consistent time series
3.2.5 Uncertainty Assessment
applies to all
3.2.6 Reporting and documentation
3.2.7 Inventory QA/QC
land use types
Same set up
3.2.1 Forest land remaining
Forest land
3.2.1.1 Changes in Biomass
3.2.1.1.1 Methodological Issues
3.2.1.1.1.1 Choice of method
Tier Approach; 1 to3
3.2.1.1.1.2 Choice of emission / removal
factors
Tier Approach; 1 to 3
3.2.1.1.1.3 Choice of activity Data
3.2.1.1.1.4 Uncertainty assessment
Reporting tables
Sectoral Report for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (Gg)
Land-use
Category a
1. Forest land (FL)
2. Cropland (CL)
3. Grassland (GL)
4. Other land (WSO)d
5. Other (please specify) e
….
….
….
TOTAL
CO2 Emission b
CO2 Removal b
CH4
N2O
NOx c
CO c
Reporting tables
Worksheets compilation tables summary tables
Sectoral Report for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories
(Gg)
Land-use
CO2 Emissions 1
CO2 Removals 1
CH4
N2O
NOx
CO
(Gg)
(Gg)
(Gg)
(Gg)
(Gg)
(Gg)
Category
Forest Land
1. Converted to Cropland
2. Converted to Grassland
3. Converted to Other land
Sub-total
Grassland
1. Converted to Cropland
2. Converted to Forestland
3. Converted to Other land
Sub-total
Total
Reporting tables
Worksheets compilation tables summary tables
Land-use
Category 1
Initial
Land-use
SubLand
categories Area
for
Reporting (ha)
Year 2
Landuse
during
reporting
Year
FL
FL
(a)
(b)
(c)
CO2 Emission from liming 5
Sub-total
CL
FL
(a)
(b)
(c)
Biomass
CO2 Emissions
3
(Gg)
Living biomass 4
Dead organic matter 4
Above- Below- Total Dead
Litter
Total
ground
ground
wood
biomass biomass
Soils
CO2 Removals
3
(Gg)
Living biomass 4
Dead organic matter 4
Above- Below- Total Dead
Litter Total
ground
ground
wood
biomass biomass
CO2
Emissions
(Gg)
CO2
Removals
(Gg)
Future Plan of Work
• Further harmonise Tiers, decision trees, equations,
symbols and units
• Improve user friendliness
• Improve defaults, with uncertainty ranges
• Further clarify key categories assessment (also ch 5),
• Improve the Worksheets, Reporting tables, Data tables
• Respond to additional comments and suggestions from
Govts. and experts