think climate. think change.
Department of Climate Change
Jan Skjemstad and Leonie Spouncer , CSIRO Land and Water, Adelaide, January 2003
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The current National Inventory of carbon fluxes resulting from changes in land use is based on the 1994 Workbook for Carbon Dioxide from the Biosphere 4.0. Although this methodology was developed after wide consultation with the scientific community, it is based on a number of crude assumptions and delineations, resulting in low levels of accuracy and reliability. Australia clearly needs to improve the accuracy and reliability of its National Inventory of net greenhouse emissions, a major component of which is due to changes in soil carbon levels. The work reported here represents the culmination and integration of a suite of projects designed to produce greatly improved estimates of soil carbon change in a timely and cost effective manner.
This report was commissioned by the Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) to calibrate the Rothamsted soil carbon turnover model for Australian conditions, and to 30 cm soil depth to conform to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines. The model was verified against a number of existing long-term field trials and a number of paired sites where Land Use and Land Use Change (LULUC) had occurred within the 1970 to 2000 time period, or where LULUC was expected to occur up to the first commitment period (2008-2012).
