FRA 2005 - national reporting tables

Specification of National Reporting Table T6

T6 Biomass stock

T6.1 Rationale

The information on 'Biomass stock' is essential to assess the amount of carbon that exists in the woody vegetation on 'Forest' and 'Other wooded land'. This information is directly linked to the international processes reporting on greenhouse gases and climate change. The information on Biomass stock is also of interest from a wood energy point of view.

T6.2 Specifications

Units and reporting years

Unit of reporting	Million metric tonnes biomass (Oven dry weight)
Area to which reported figures refer	Area classified as 'Forest' and 'Other wooded land' in table T1
Reporting years	1990, 2000 and 2005

Categories and definitions

In order to harmonise with ongoing international processes and to reduce the reporting burden, the categories and definitions used in FRA 2005 correspond to those established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Category	Definition
Above-ground biomass	All living biomass above the soil including stem, stump, branches, bark, seeds, and foliage. Explanatory note In cases where forest understorey is a relatively small component of the aboveground biomass carbon pool, it is acceptable to exclude it, provided this is done in a consistent manner throughout the inventory time series.
Below-ground biomass	All living biomass of live roots. Fine roots of less than 2mm diameter are excluded because these often cannot be distinguished empirically from soil organic matter or litter. Explanatory notes Includes the below-ground part of the stump. The country may use another threshold value than 2 mm for fine roots, but in such a case the threshold value used must be documented.
Dead wood biomass	All non-living woody biomass not contained in the litter, either standing, lying on the ground, or in the soil. Dead wood includes wood lying on the surface, dead roots, and stumps larger than or equal to 10 cm in diameter or any other diameter used by the country Explanatory note The country may use another threshold value than 10 cm, but in such a case the threshold value used must be documented.

Current and past definitions are available on FRA 2005 Terms and Definitions

Reporting table template

FRA 2005 categories	Biomass (million metric tonnes oven-dry weight)
	Forest			Other wooded land
	1990	2000	2005	1990	2000	2005
Above-ground biomass
Below-ground biomass
Dead wood biomass
Total

Note: the countries should document the threshold value used for fine roots and dead wood.

Internal consistency

The biomass figures are generally derived from the growing stock figures reported in table T5 through biomass expansion factors. The biomass expansion factors are multiplication factors that expand growing stock or commercial growing stock data to account for non-merchantable biomass components such as branches, foliage and roots.