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Workstreams and benefits of the LUCAS programme

Example of spatial data for the Manawatu region, available under the all-of-government purchase agreement. (SPOT Image CNES 2004 - Copyright.)

Example of spatial data for the Manawatu
region, available under the
all-of-government purchase agreement.
(SPOT Image CNES 2004 - Copyright.)

Workstreams

The Land Use and Carbon Analysis System has five workstreams. These are interdependent, building upon each other to calculate carbon stock changes for Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) activities across New Zealand.

The six workstreams, each with further details on their own page, are:

  1. database and reporting system
  2. method development
  3. land use mapping
  4. soils
  5. natural forests
  6. planted forests.

Benefits of LUCAS

The data and information collected through the LUCAS project serve a number of purposes other than greenhouse gas reporting, including:

Land cover mapping

The satellite imagery for the LUCAS are obtained under an all-of-government purchase agreement. That means other New Zealand government departments and local government can also get easy access to these data. They can use them for:

  • verifying land that can be planted under the
    • Permanent Forest Sinks Initiative (PFSI)
    • Forest Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)
  • national land cover mapping.

Forest condition and biodiversity

This programme has undertaken New Zealand’s first national forest inventory since the 1940s. Additional data were collected at the same time as field party members collected forest and soil carbon data. This can be used for:

  • biodiversity assessments of natural forest
  • sampling frameworks for regional and local vegetation monitoring.

Data on non-carbon features such as forest condition and presence of fungi is also obtained by field teams, such as here near Waikare

Data on non-carbon features such as forest condition and presence of fungi
is also obtained by field teams, such as here near Waikare.

Policy development

The LUCAS project:

  • provides robust background information for New Zealand’s future climate change policy development
  • improves land use knowledge and reduces uncertainty around New Zealand’s greenhouse gas net position
  • informs New Zealand negotiations for future international climate change agreements
  • delivers an enhanced planted forest description for policy advice and international reporting (eg, the Montreal Process of FAO)
  • permits New Zealand’s international reporting associated with climate change, biodiversity, sustainable forest management, and other environmental reporting.

Last updated: 3 August 2009