| Recently, there has been a great deal of interest in using forests to sequester carbon emitted by burning of fossil fuels. However, accurate data on net primary productivity and biogeochemical cycling of regional forests with good spatial resolution are currently unavailable within Ohio. Basing this study on southeastern Ohio ecosystems, there were four major objectives. First, develop methodology to utilize the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) and State Soil Geographic (STATSGO) data at a spatial resolution of 30 m. Second, determine how well data on forest productivity correlate with remotely-sensed and soil characteristics data at a spatial resolution of 30 m. Third, use the above correlations to predict forest productivity at a spatial resolution of 30 m from remotely-sensed and soils data. Fourth, calculate the predicted aboveground annual carbon storage in the forests of southeastern Ohio at a spatial resolution of 30 m from the forest productivity data.; Land cover, slope, and aspect were used to select the FIA plots that had the best spatial accuracy. Interpolation techniques were used to smooth the boundaries between soil classification units. There was a significant correlation between remotely-sensed soil characteristics variables and annual basal area increment (adjusted R2 = 0.40, p < 0.001). Validation of this model also showed a significant correlation (R2 = 0.30, p < 0.001). Predicted annual basal area increment in forested areas ranged from 0 to 1.12 m2/ha with a mean of 0.14 m2/ha, resulting in an estimate of 103,381 M2 for the entire study area, which was 26% higher than when calculated from the FIA database. Although nonforested areas were not included in the data analyses, the mean annual predicted annual basal area increment (0.02 m2/ha) was significantly lower in non-forested areas than in forested areas. Predicted aboveground annual biomass increment in forested areas ranged from 0 to 6475 kg/ha with a mean of 1401 kg/ha, resulting in a total of 1,029,228,000 kg for the study area. Predicted aboveground annual carbon increment in forested areas ranged from 0 to 3224 kg/ha with a mean of 698 kg/ha, resulting in a total of 512,556,000 kg for the entire study area. The total annual aboveground carbon storage was approximately one-fourth the annual carbon emissions from a single coal-fired power plant located in the study area. |
