PILOT Tree and Ecosystem Monitoring Initiative (TEMI)

It has never been more evident that the protection and regeneration of nature and biodiversity are vital for a sustainable future on earth. Gold Standard has been developing Afforestation and Reforestation methodologies for over a decade and can use its expertise and experience to help advance nature activities and solutions. To support this, the Tree and Ecosystem Monitoring Initiative (TEMI) was launched by Gold Standard and Spatial Informatic Group (SIG) in October 2024. Under this initiative, new products are being developed and piloted to bring innovative and efficient tools, supporting the advancement nature activities.  

PARTNER

TREE-ACCURATE Pilot 

Accurate measurement of forest biomass is essential for credible emission reduction and removal claims. Traditional measurement methods using field plots and statistical estimators, while effective, are costly. The Tree Remote Environmental Evaluation – Assessing Carbon Capture Using Remote Accuracy Techniques and Estimates (TREE-ACCURATE) is a new protocol being piloted under TEMI. The protocol is a tool for methodologies that use remote sensing of tree biomass to measure accuracy and uncertainty. Essentially, it can calculate how accurate an algorithm is. This protocol has the potential to offer an innovative solution by leveraging Earth Observation (EO) data to reduce these costs without compromising accuracy. 

The pilot TREE-ACCURATE  is the result of a collaborative effort commissioned by Gold Standard and developed by Spatial Informatics Group (SIG). This innovative project was crafted through a rigorous process that included public stakeholder consultations and extensive outreach to technology providers. By engaging a diverse range of experts and stakeholders, Gold Standard and SIG have ensured the pilot protocol is both comprehensive and practical, addressing the real-world challenges of biomass estimation in emission reduction and removal projects. This collaborative approach underscores the commitment to transparency, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness in advancing the future of verified emission reductions associated with forests.  

Piloting Phase 

2-year pilot phase by which Gold Standard intends to understand the nuances of the  pilot TREE-ACCURATE application of the protocol in real-world conditions will take place in 2025.

Lessons learned from the piloting phase will inform an updated version of the protocol. If the protocol is successful in its real-world application, it might be submitted for official review and approval by Gold Standard. An exact timeline for submission for approval by Gold Standard is yet to be determined but we envision it will happen by the end of 2025.  

Comprehensive Benchmarking Approach 

The pilot TREE-ACCURATE reviews methods for quantifying error and error structures in biomass estimation, highlighting limitations such as the lack of transparency and insufficient information on accuracy and uncertainty in existing remote sensing methods. EO data, while not directly measuring forest carbon, can estimate proxies of carbon, with varying accuracy depending on sensor type and location. 

Using stem data from two forests, we illustrate that higher quality models with better R² values can reduce the number of field samples needed to achieve a given standard error, thus lowering costs. However, models calibrated with data from outside the project area show significant biases, emphasiszing the importance of localiszed data. 

Given that all maps contain errors, and these errors increase when no field data is collected within the project area, CanopyCal presents guidelines for assessing the need for uncertainty discounts when using EO-based biomass maps. Practical examples and scenarios are provided, along with an accompanying Excel worksheet to assist in implementation. 

Join Us in Revolutionising Forest Biomass Monitoring 

Details on how to get involved in the pilot phase will be announced in Q4 2024. Sign up to Gold Standard Newsletter and follow Gold Standard on LinkedIn to keep up to date on this pilot programme.  

Improving the Accuracy of Remote Sensing for Tree Biomass 

12 December 2024 
16:00 – 17:00 CET 

Accurate measurement of forest biomass is essential for credible emission reduction and removal claims. Traditional measurement methods using field plots and statistical estimators, while effective, are costly. Gold Standard and Spatial Informatics Group (SIG) have developed a new protocol, the ‘Tree Remote Environmental Evaluation – Assessing Carbon Capture Using Remote Accuracy Techniques and Estimates’ (TREE-ACCURATE), intended to reduce costs without compromising accuracy.  

The protocol was designed to assess the accuracy and uncertainty of tree biomass estimates based on remote sensing and will soon be piloted to understand how accurate remote sensing estimates of tree biomass can be, with the potential application to Gold Standard products.  

During the webinar SIG will present the TREE-ACCURATE protocol and explain the details of the 2-year pilot (due to begin in 2025) phase by which Gold Standard intends to understand the nuances of the application of the protocol in real-world conditions.