6 Table T6 - Biomass stock

6.1 FRA 2005 Categories and definitions

Category	Definition
Above-ground biomass	All living biomass above the soil including stem, stump, branches, bark, seeds, and foliage.
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.
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.

6.2 National data

6.2.1 Data sources

References to sources of information	Quality (H/M/L)	Variable(s)	Year(s)	Additional comments
Ministero dell’Agricoltura e delle Foreste-ISAFA. 1988. Inventario Forestale Nazionale. Sintesi metodologica e risultati.	H	Used to estimate: Aboveground tree biomass	1985
Giordano, G. 1971. Tecnologia del legno. UTET, Torino	H	Used to estimate: Aboveground tree biomass	-
Estimation from European Project CANIF	L	Below ground tree biomass	-	Data were obtained through personal communication

6.2.2 Classification and definitions

No definitions available.

6.2.3 Original data

As an attempt to estimate the amount of Woody biomass, it was decided to calculate the amount of Above-ground tree biomass multiplying the Growing stock data (IFNI 1985) by the wood density of the main tree species.

Below-ground biomass estimates were calculated using the results of a European biomass assessment study (CANIF) carried out on beech and spruce formations and applying the same percentage of root biomass to broadleaved and conifer species, respectively.

Deadwood biomass was calculated in accordance with the recommendations of the IPCC Good Practice Guidance.

Aboveground biomass:

Coppice	Area	Vol/ha (m3/ha)	WD8	Biomass/ha (t/ha)	Total biomass (t)
Beech (Faggio)	402 800	151	0.73	110.23	44 400 644
Chestnut (Castagno)	493 535	151	0.87	131.37	64 835 693
Hornbeams (Carpini)	324 701	89	0.79	70.31	22 829 727
Sessile oak and others oaks (Rovere, Roverella, Farnia)	390 037	87	0.74	64.38	25 110 582
Bitter oak (Cerro)	346 285	106	0.87	92.22	31 934 403
Holm oak and Cork-oak (Leccio Sughera)	152 948	108	0.94	101.52	15 527 281
Others broadleaves	612 859	99	0.67	66.33	40 650 937
Total	2 723 165				245 289 267
Average Biomass/ha				90.08

High Forest	Area	Vol/ha (m3/ha)	WD	Biomass/ha (t/ha)	Tot bio (t)
Spruce (Abete rosso)	380 493	309	0.42	129.78	49 380 382
Fir (Abete bianco)	63 606	365	0.42	153.3	9 750 800
Larch (Larice)	241 402	203	0.63	127.89	30 872 902
Mountain pines (Pini montani)	267 832	187	0.50	93.97	25 167 503
Mediterranean pines (Pini mediterranei)	108 627	123	0.56	68.57	7 448 825
Others conifers	23 431	129	0.57	73.53	1 722 881
Beech (Faggio)	287 992	244	0.73	178.12	51 297 135
Bitter oak (Cerro)	96 452	170	0.87	147.9	14 265 251
Others Quercus spp	176 465	117	0.81	94.77	16 723 588
Others broadleaves	277 779	152	0.67	101.84	28 289 013
Tot	1 924 079				234 918 280
Average Biomass/ha				122.09

Productive forest formation	Area	Vol/ha (m3/ha)	WD	Biomass/ha (t/ha)	Tot bio (t)
Poplars	105 244	96	0.42	40.64	4 277 116
Other broadleaves	7 680	80	0.67	53.6	411 648
Conifers	4 068	107	0.57	60.99	248 107
Tot	116 992				4 936 871
Average Biomass/ha				42.20

Forest types	Biomass/ha (t/ha)	Area (ha)	Total biomass (t)
Coppice	90.08	2 723 165	245 302 703
High forest	122.09	1 924 079	234 910 805
Product Forest formations	42.20	116 992	4 937 062
Tot		4 764 236	485 150 571
Average Biomass/ha	101.83

Source IFNI

Belowground biomass:

Total biomass and its components (t dw/ha)
	Beech	Spruce
Fine roots	3.8	2.9
Coarse roots	55.2	54.8
Total roots	59.0	57.7
Allometric ratios
Root / tot. biomass	0.22	0.26

Source: CANIF

The results indicated below were obtained by applying the 0.22 percentage to the broadleaves species and the 0.26 percentage to the conifers:

Forest types	Area (ha)	Root Biomass/ha (t/ha)	Root biomass (t)
Coppice	2 723 165	90.08	53 963 639
High forest	1 924 079	122.09	51 682 022
Production forest formations	116 992	42.20	1 086 112
Tot	4 764 236		106 731 772
Average Biomass/ha		22.40

Deadwood biomass:

Forest types	Average Dead woodstock t/ha (IPCC)	9Forest Area 1990	Forest Area 2000	Forest Area 2005
Evergreen	43.4	1 557 116	6 965 637	7 334 863
Deciduous	34.7	6 228 463	1 741 409	1 833 716
Total forest area		7 785 579	8 707 046	9 168 579
Total dead wood biomass		283 706 499	317 284 756	334 103 019

6.3 Analysis and processing of national data

6.3.1 Calibration

No calibration was necessary since the mean Biomass per hectare was multiplied by the Forest area resulting from T1.

6.3.2 Estimation and forecasting

The above-ground and below-ground biomass estimates for 1990-2000 and the forecasting for 2005 were calculated assuming that the biomass per hectare was constant throughout the years and multiplying the mean value by the 1990, 2000 and 2005 forest area given in T1.

The estimates and the forecast for Deadwood biomass were calculated following the IPCC Good Practice Guidance as recommended by the FRA 2005 guidelines. Deadwood biomass per hectare, as given by the IPCC, was applied to the estimated extent of broadleaves and coniferous forests to obtain the total Deadwood biomass.

6.4 Reclassification into FRA 2005 classes

Table: Reclassification (Percentage allocation) into FRA 2005 classes

National Classification	Percentage of a National Class to a FRA Class
	Above Ground Biomass	Below Ground Biomass	Dead Wood Biomass
Percentage	%	%	%
Coppice biomass	100
High forest biomass	100
Production forest formations	100
Belowground estimated biomass		100
Deadwood estimated biomass			100

6.5 Data for National reporting table T6

FRA 2005 Categories	Biomass (million metric tonnes oven-dry weight)
	Forest			Other wooded land
	1990	2000	2005	1990	2000	2005
Above-ground biomass	793	887	934	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
Below-ground biomass	174	195	205	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
Dead wood biomass	284	317	334	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
TOTAL	1 251	1 399	1 473

6.6 Comments to National reporting table T6

⁸ Giordano, G. 1971. Tecnologia del legno. UTET, Torino.
⁹ It was assumed that 80% of the forest area is composed by broadleaves species and 20% by coniferous species (according to the TBFRA 2000 data).