3.3 IPCC Reporting

Common Reporting Framework

The IPCC requires all national reports to be consistent with their reporting framework - referred to as the Common Reporting Framework, or CRF. The CRF includes categorisation of emission sources and sinks by sector, and is supported with a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The outputs of the FLINT will be able to be reconciled against the CRF; however in general the output will be finer than is required for the CRF (i.e. pools may need to be aggregated for reporting purposes). While it is possible for the FLINT to automatically generate reports consistent with the CRF, it would remove some of the versatility of the FLINT, and would also bind up-dates to the system each time the CRF was altered. More information on the CRF can be found at www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/gl/guidelin/ch1ri.pdf

CO2 and Non-CO2 Reporting

The FLINT is fully configurable to report on both CO2 and non-CO2 emissions. This is managed through the pool process, where pools can include any value. However, the FLINT does not yet restrict transfers from carbon to non-carbon pools – this is required to be restricted through the implementation of modules. Of note, due to the mass balance requirements, the FLINT must include a pools, from which carbon (e.g. CO2 & CH4) and non-carbon pools (e.g. N2O) can draw values from.

Land Area Matrices

TBC

Generic data sources Forest Biomes

The IPCC provides Tier 1 figures of above and below ground biomass by forest type (see Table 4.8, Chapter 4, Volume 4). By combining these default estimates with estimates of the area cleared by forest type obtained through remote sensing, it is possible to readily obtain a Tier 1 model of deforestation. While there are numerous forest mapping tools available, such as the WWF terrestrial ecosystems, these are not well aligned with the IPCC biomass figures. For this reason, it is recommended that the FAO Global Ecological Zones be used for this purposes, as this will be consistent with the IPCC approach. Originally released in 2001 and updated in 2010, the GEZ offers a map of the world’s forest zones, reflecting the IPCC categories (Table 1). Noting that these forest zones are not maps of forest cover. Separate forest cover maps will be necessary for monitoring deforestation. The GEZ are Available at: data.fao.org/map?entryId=2fb209d0-fd34-4e5e-a3d8-a13c241eb61b&tab=about

Name	Criteria	Name	Code	Criteria
Tropical	All months	Tropical rain forest	TAr	Wet: 0 – 3 months dryb. When dry period, during winter
Tropical	without frost: in marine areas over 18°C	Tropical moist deciduous forest	TAwa	Wet/dry: 3 – 5 months dry, during winter
Tropical	without frost: in marine areas over 18°C	Tropical dry forest	TAwb	Dry/wet: 5 – 8 months dry, during winter
Tropical	without frost: in marine areas over 18°C	Tropical shrubland	TBSh	Semi-Arid: Evaporation > Precipitation
Tropical	without frost: in marine areas over 18°C	Tropical desert	TBWh	Arid: All months dry
Tropical	without frost: in marine areas over 18°C	Tropical mountain systems	TM	Approximate > 1000 m altitude (local variations)
Subtropical	Eight months	Subtropical humid forest	SCf	Humid: No dry season
Subtropical	or more over 10°C	Subtropical dry forest	SCs	Seasonally Dry: Winter rains, dry summer
Subtropical	or more over 10°C	Subtropical steppe	SBSh	Semi-Arid: Evaporation > Precipitation
Subtropical	or more over 10°C	Subtropical desert	SBWh	Arid All months dry
Subtropical	or more over 10°C	Subtropical mountain systems	SM	Approximate > 800-1000 m altitude
Temperate	Four to eight months	Temperate oceanic forest	TeDo	Oceanic climate: coldest month over 0°C
Temperate	Four to eight months	Temperate continental forest	TeDc	Continental climate: coldest month under 0°C
Temperate	Four to eight months	Temperate steppe	TeBSk	Semi-Arid: Evaporation > Precipitation
Temperate	Four to eight months	Temperate desert	TeBWk	Arid: All months dry
Temperate	Four to eight months	Temperate mountain systems	TM	Approximate > 800 m altitude
Boreal	Up to 3 months over 10°C	Boreal coniferous forest	Ba	Vegetation physiognomy: coniferous dense forest dominant
Boreal	Up to 3 months over 10°C	Boreal tundra woodland	Bb	Vegetation physiognomy: woodland and sparse forest dominant
Boreal	Up to 3 months over 10°C	Boreal mountain systems	BM	Approximate > 600 m altitude
Polar	All months below 10°C	Polar	P	Same as domain level

Soils As with the forest biomes, it is necessary to have a spatial representation of soil to estimates of their emissions can be completed. There are multiple maps that are available for mapping the soils. The FAO World Resource Base Map contains information on soils, which can be classified up into the IPCC reporting categories (see the below table). This is available for download at: www.fao.org/soils-portal/soil-survey/soil-maps-and-databases/other-global-soil-maps-and-databases/jp/

FAO WRB Class	IPCC Class
Acrisol AC	LAC Soils
Albeluvisol AB	HAC Soils
Alisol AL	HAC Soils
Andosol AN	Volcanic Soils
Anthrosol AT	LAC Soils
Arenosol AR	Sandy Soils
Calcisol CL	HAC Soils
Cambisol CM	HAC Soils
Chernozem CH	HAC Soils
Cryosol CR	LAC Soils
Durisol DU	LAC Soils
Ferralsol FR	LAC Soils
Fluvisol FL	LAC Soils
Gleysol GL	Wetland Soils
Gypsisol GY	HAC Soils
Histosol HS	Organic Soils
Kastanozem KS	HAC Soils
Leptosol LP	HAC Soils
Lixisol LX	LAC Soils
Luvisol LV	HAC Soils
Nitisol NT	LAC Soils
Phaeozem PH	HAC Soils
Planosol PL	LAC Soils
Plinthosol PT	LAC Soils
Podzol PZ	Spodic Soils
Regosol RG	HAC Soils
Solonchak SC	LAC Soils
Solonetz SN	HAC Soils
Stagnosol ST	LAC Soils
Technosol TC	LAC Soils
Umbrisol UM	HAC Soils
Vertisol VR	HAC Soils

As an alternative, the ISRIC (World Soil Information) has produced a global soils map that is also consistent with the IPCC guidelines. This data is freely available for education and non-commercial purposes – however, written consent is needed for any commercial use of the product. These are available at: www.isric.org/data/ipcc-default-soil-classes-derived-harmonized-world-soil-data-base-ver-11.