Informed plantation management requires a good database, since the quality of information depends on the quality of data, growth models and other planning tools. There are several important questions concerning permanent plots: how many plots, where to put them, and how to manage them. Plot measurement procedures are also important. This paper illustrates graphical procedures to evaluate existing databases, to identify areas of weakness, and to plan remedial sampling. Two graphs, one of site index versus age, another with stocking versus tree size, may provide a good summary of the site and stand conditions represented in the database. However, it is important that these variables, especially site index, can be determined reliably. Where there is doubt about the efficacy of site index estimates, it is prudent to stratify the database according to geography, soil/geology or yield level (total basal area or volume production). Established permanent plot systems may sample a limited range of stand conditions, and clinal designs are an efficient way to supplement such data to provide a better basis for silvicultural inference. Procedures are illustrated with three data sets: teak plantations in Burma, Norway spruce in Denmark, and a clinal spacing experiment in India.
Tag: databases
EcoregionsTreeFinder—A Global Dataset Documenting the Abundance of Observations of > 45,000 Tree Species in 828 Terrestrial Ecoregions
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework emphasizes ecological restoration as a key strategy for conserving biodiversity. The Global Biodiversity Standard promotes the use of native tree species, aligning with the Ecoregions2017Resolve global map, which enhances systematic planning for terrestrial biodiversity conservation. EcoregionsTreeFinder, a newly developed database, provides comprehensive lists of native tree species across 828 terrestrial ecoregions, aiding restoration projects, biogeographical studies, and tree presence observations. The dataset includes 48,129 tree species with 453,053 ecoregion-species records, detailing observations across bioclimatic zones based on Climatic Moisture Index, temperature thresholds, and water deficit metrics. The data spans 1946–2021, sourced from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, supporting biodiversity conservation efforts worldwide.
Indicators for sustainable bioeconomy: Towards building a monitoring and assessment framework
Bioeconomy holds great promise for transforming how we live, produce, and share resources, with people and the planet at the heart of development. But this potential will not be fulfilled without clear metrics of what counts as sustainable bioeconomy and how it can be monitored and assessed. They must also empower all stakeholders – policymakers, businesses, investors, researchers, communities – to steward biological resources responsibly and ensure that their benefits are equitably shared. This publication introduces a prioritization approach and an accompanying database. They are an important step toward filling this gap, offering a wide and comprehensive range of indicators that users can draw from in ways that are in line with their own strategies and targets and connected to global ambitions such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The G20 High-Level Principles on Bioeconomy are our starting point for assessing and categorizing bioeconomy-relevant indicators drawn from a range of sources across three broad categories (territories, products and value chains, and business and sectoral indicators). The FAO Aspirational Principles and Criteria for Sustainable Bioeconomy allow to identify indicators that cover similar sustainability issues. While there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ set of indicators, the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability as well as good governance principles should be all covered at least once to keep the number of indicators to a manageable yet representative number. A more robust foundation for evidence-based decision-making can lead to improved policy coherence and sustained investment in inclusive, resilient, and sustainable bioeconomy development.
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EcoregionsTreeFinder—A Global Dataset Documenting the Abundance of Observations of > 45,000 Tree Species in 828 Terrestrial Ecoregions
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework emphasizes ecological restoration as a key strategy for conserving biodiversity. The Global Biodiversity Standard promotes the use of native tree species, aligning with the Ecoregions2017Resolve global map, which enhances systematic planning for terrestrial biodiversity conservation. EcoregionsTreeFinder, a newly developed database, provides comprehensive lists of native tree species across 828 terrestrial ecoregions, aiding restoration projects, biogeographical studies, and tree presence observations. The dataset includes 48,129 tree species with 453,053 ecoregion-species records, detailing observations across bioclimatic zones based on Climatic Moisture Index, temperature thresholds, and water deficit metrics. The data spans 1946–2021, sourced from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, supporting biodiversity conservation efforts worldwide.
Assessing the Need for Establishing Land, Soil, and Crop Information Hubs to Support Climate-Smart Agriculture in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda
The Land, Soil, and Crop Information Services (LSC-IS) project (2021–2025) aims to establish sustainable agricultural data hubs within national research organizations in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda to support climate-smart agriculture. Beginning with a comprehensive needs assessment, the project identified user data requirements, institutional capacity gaps, and staff expertise needs. These findings informed strategies for embedding, long-term maintenance, and sustainability of the hubs, alongside multi-stakeholder engagement at national, district, and local levels. Two primary use cases guided the assessments: soil fertility management and soil and water conservation. Methodology included workshops, stakeholder interviews, and surveys emphasizing data demand for advancing climate-smart agriculture. In Ethiopia, AICCRA supports the Ministry of Agriculture in developing the AgDataHub and the National Soil Information System (NSIS). In Kenya, KALRO leads the Kenya Digital Agriculture Platform and contributes through the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project (KCSAP). In Rwanda, the Rwanda Soil Information System (RwaSIS) provides soil fertility advisories and links to the Smart Nkunganire System (SNS), with a national Agricultural Management Information System (AMIS) under preparation.
A bottom-up approach to estimating emissions from food systems: Using Biennial Transparency Reports for fine- grained, country-level estimations
Estimating greenhouse gas emissions from food systems remains a major challenge due to the lack of harmonized, sector-specific data that capture their cross-cutting nature. Food systems span all economic sectors along which national GHG inventories are usually structured: energy, industry, agriculture, land use and waste. However, national inventories are not fine-grained enough to disaggregate the share of food in those emissions, obscuring their full contribution and hindering integrated mitigation planning. Reliable, up-to-date country-level data are scarce, and global databases rely heavily on top-down estimates and outdated assumptions.
To address this gap, we introduce a model estimating food system emissions (FSE) in Common Reporting Tables (CRT). The FSE-CRT model is a straightforward, transparent and bottom-up approach that draws exclusively on official national data, as reported by countries to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) through their Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) and CRTs. It offers a credible alternative to global datasets that is grounded in nationally generated data that countries can control and validate (data sovereignty), and aligned with their priorities for food security and self-determined reporting.
Based on the first 83 CRTs available as of mid-2025, the FSE-CRT model estimates FSE at 10.6 GtCO₂eq, matching the FAOSTAT estimate of 10.3 GtCO₂eq for the same 83 countries. When extrapolated to all countries, this corresponds to 16.8 GtCO₂eq, very close to the global estimate of 17 GtCO₂eq reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC: Babiker et al. 2022). The FSE-CRT model thus provides a realistic and replicable framework to validate and refine global FSE estimates, while enabling consistent, country- driven assessments for policy and planning.
EcoregionsTreeFinder—A Global Dataset Documenting the Abundance of Observations of > 45,000 Tree Species in 828 Terrestrial Ecoregions
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework emphasizes ecological restoration as a key strategy for conserving biodiversity. The Global Biodiversity Standard promotes the use of native tree species, aligning with the Ecoregions2017Resolve global map, which enhances systematic planning for terrestrial biodiversity conservation. EcoregionsTreeFinder, a newly developed database, provides comprehensive lists of native tree species across 828 terrestrial ecoregions, aiding restoration projects, biogeographical studies, and tree presence observations. The dataset includes 48,129 tree species with 453,053 ecoregion-species records, detailing observations across bioclimatic zones based on Climatic Moisture Index, temperature thresholds, and water deficit metrics. The data spans 1946–2021, sourced from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, supporting biodiversity conservation efforts worldwide.
TROPIS: Tree Growth and Permanent Plot Information System
TROPIS, the Tree Growth and Permanent Plot Information System, contains five elements: (1) a network of people willing to share permanent plot data and tree growth information, serviced by newsletters and information sources hosted at http:/’/www.cgnet.or g/cifor/research/tropis.htmI (or available from CIFOR), (2) an index of people and institutions holding permanent plot data, (3) a database management system to assist more efficient data management, (4) a system to facilitate site -matching by identifying comparable sites and allowing foreign data to be used when no local growth information exists, and (5) an inference system to allow growth estimates to be made in the absence of empirical data. The index or metadatabase contains references to 12,000 plots with 3,000 species provided by 100 contributors, and is growing at about 1,000 plots per month. Searches of the database are welcomed, and may be directed to the author.
EcoregionsTreeFinder—A Global Dataset Documenting the Abundance of Observations of > 45,000 Tree Species in 828 Terrestrial Ecoregions
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework emphasizes ecological restoration as a key strategy for conserving biodiversity. The Global Biodiversity Standard promotes the use of native tree species, aligning with the Ecoregions2017Resolve global map, which enhances systematic planning for terrestrial biodiversity conservation. EcoregionsTreeFinder, a newly developed database, provides comprehensive lists of native tree species across 828 terrestrial ecoregions, aiding restoration projects, biogeographical studies, and tree presence observations. The dataset includes 48,129 tree species with 453,053 ecoregion-species records, detailing observations across bioclimatic zones based on Climatic Moisture Index, temperature thresholds, and water deficit metrics. The data spans 1946–2021, sourced from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, supporting biodiversity conservation efforts worldwide.