SSSAJ Special Issue: Quantifying Uncertainty in Forest Ecosystem Studies

We are now accepting contributions to a special issue of Soil Science Society of America Journal called "Quantifying Uncertainty in Forest Ecosystem Studies." 

Papers may address any source of uncertainty in forest ecosystems, including spatial and temporal variation, measurement error, model uncertainty, and model selection error.  Topics may include pools and turnover rates in soil, necromass, and living biomass. Papers that address how these uncertainties influence monitoring designs or affect management and policy decisions are also welcome.  

Submit your paper through Manuscript Central.  Select Quantifying Uncertainty in Forest Ecosystem Studies in the menu for the type of submission.

Uncertainty Analysis, 2016 Fall AGU Meeting: Abstracts due by Aug 3

Uncertainty Enthusiasts,

Please consider submitting an abstract to the following session at the 2016 Fall AGU meeting.

B065. Quantifying uncertainty in ecosystem studies:  Methods and applications

Uncertainty analysis is an emerging field in ecosystem science and there is growing recognition that including uncertainty in ecosystem studies is required for sound science. Uncertainty is essential for determining the significance of observed differences and for analyzing trends over time or making predictions. Recognizing which sources contribute the most uncertainty can improve efficiency in ecosystem monitoring efforts, allowing sampling designs to maximize information gained relative to the resources expended. Despite the many benefits of uncertainty analysis, in ecosystem studies it is not uncommon for uncertainties to be overlooked because of difficulties in characterizing multiple sources of uncertainty and because of the complexity of the calculations. This session will highlight methods and applications of uncertainty analysis in observations, experiments, modeling, and synthesis in ecosystem studies. The objective is to demonstrate how estimates of uncertainty can add scientific rigor to analyses and improve the interpretation of data for decision making.

Abstracts can be submitted to this session at https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm16/preliminaryview.cgi/Session13494 and are due by Aug. 3.

Session ID: 13494

Section/Focus Group: Biogeosciences (B)

Cross-Listed: Hydrology (H)

The AGU meeting will be held 12-16 December 2016 in San Francisco (http://fallmeeting.agu.org/2016/).  This session is being organized by QUEST (Quantifying Uncertainty in Ecosystem Studies), a Research Coordination Network funded by the NSF.

Thank you,

Co-conveners:

John Campbell (USFS)

Ruth Yanai (SUNY-ESF)

SSSA 2016 Symposium and Special Issue: Quantifying Uncertainty in Forest Ecosystem Studies

We invite abstracts for a symposium at the 2016 SSSA meeting November 6-9 in Phoenix, AZ.  Quantifying uncertainty in studies of forests is important to establish the significance of findings, make predictions with known confidence, and guide investments in research and monitoring. This symposium will address sources of uncertainty in estimates of carbon and nutrients in forest soils, above- and belowground biomass, and ecosystem inputs and outputs.

Presentations may address any source of uncertainty in forest ecosystems, including spatial and temporal variation, measurement error, model uncertainty, and model selection error.  Topics may include pools and turnover rates in soil, necromass, and living biomass. Presentations will also address how these uncertainties influence monitoring designs or affect management and policy decisions.  
Abstract submissions will open March 15, and close June 7, with early submission deadline of May 24. https://www.acsmeetings.org/submit/oral.
Authors will be invited to submit papers to a special issue of SSSAJ.  Papers not presented at the SSSA meeting are also welcome to the SSSAJ special issue.
Please contact quantifyinguncertainty@gmail.com.
We hope to see you in Phoenix!

CJFR Special Issue now complete and available Open Access

We are pleased to announce a partial special issue of CJFR titled: Quantifying uncertainty in forest measurements and models: Approaches and applications http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/toc/cjfr/46/3.  There are five papers, most of which were presented in the QUEST sessions at the 2014 IUFRO world congress in Salt Lake City, along with an introduction by the session organizers.

Title page

Partial special issue: Quantifying uncertainty in forest measurements and models: approaches and applications / Numéro spécial partiel : Quantification de l’incertitude dans la modélisation et la Quantifying uncertainty in forest measurements and models: approaches and applications D. Paré, G.Z. Gertner, P.Y. Bernier, R.D. Yanai

» Citation

Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 2016, 46(3): v, 10.1139/cjfr-2016-0029

·     Full Text

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Articles

Sources of variability in tissue chemistry in northern hardwood species

Yang Yang, Ruth D. Yanai, Farrah R. Fatemi, Carrie R. Levine, Paul J. Lilly, Russell D. Briggs

» Abstract

Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 2016, 46(3): 285-296, 10.1139/cjfr-2015-0302

·     Full Text

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Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of the carbon and water fluxes at the tree scale in Eucalyptus plantations using a metamodeling approach

M. Christina, Y. Nouvellon, J.P. Laclau, J.L. Stape, O.C Campoe, G. le Maire

» Abstract

Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 2016, 46(3): 297-309, 10.1139/cjfr-2015-0173

·     Full Text

·     PDF (2636 K)

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·     Supplementary data

Uncertainty of upland soil carbon sink estimate for Finland

Aleksi Lehtonen, Juha Heikkinen

» Abstract

Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 2016, 46(3): 310-322, 10.1139/cjfr-2015-0171

·     Full Text

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·     Supplementary data

Random forests and stochastic gradient boosting for predicting tree canopy cover: comparing tuning processes and model performance

Elizabeth A. Freeman, Gretchen G. Moisen, John W. Coulston, Barry T. Wilson

» Abstract

Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 2016, 46(3): 323-339, 10.1139/cjfr-2014-0562

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Evaluating the required scenario set size for stochastic programming in forest management planning: incorporating inventory and growth model uncertainty

Kyle Eyvindson, Annika Kangas

» Abstract

Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 2016, 46(3): 340-347, 10.1139/cjfr-2014-0513

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TAKE OUR SURVEY!!

Greetings uncertainty enthusiasts,

As part of the QUEST workshop at this summer’s LTER All Scientists Meeting, we developed a brief survey to assess practices in reporting uncertainty in precipitation, streamflow, biomass, and soils. We are extending it to all researchers working in these areas. All four sections need not be filled out by the same individual.

The survey can be taken here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/EcosytemUncertainty

We’re asking that respondents complete the survey within two weeks. Each section takes an estimated 5-10 minutes.  Please feel free to pass this on to other researchers at your site or at other sites.

To express our appreciation, one respondent will be randomly selected to receive QUEST support of a publication that reports uncertainty, in the form of payment for Open Access publication. 

We plan to report the results in a review article on uncertainty analysis.

QUEST Workshop at the LTER All Scientists Meeting a Success

Last week QUEST held a working group at the LTER ASM in Estes Park, CO, titled “Sources of Uncertainty in Ecosystem Monitoring.”  The first hour of the working group consisted of six brief presentations on different aspects of uncertainty in ecosystem monitoring, each followed by a similar lightning round discussion. The second hour consisted of a longer group discussion, and at the end participants were invited to take a survey on how they deal with uncertainty in their own research. We received positive feedback from many participants, and plan to use the results of the survey as part of a review article on current practices for uncertainty in ecosystem ecology.

List of presenters:

·        Ruth Yanai (SUNY-ESF): A brief history of QUEST; Uncertainty in the Hubbard Brook nitrogen budget

·        Craig See (University of Georgia): Gaps: why they occur, and what we can do about them.

·        John Campbell (USFS): Uncertainty in the net hydrologic flux of calcium in a paired-watershed harvesting study.

·        Josh Roberti (NEON): Connecting uncertainty estimates and QA/QC methods.

·        Melissa Slater (NEON): Examining spatial patterns of precipitation in complex terrain.

·        Carrie Levine (UC Berkeley): Using Bayesian hierarchical models to estimate forest demographic processes.

QUEST Special Issue of Canadian Journal of Forest Research

We are pleased to announce a special issue of CJFR titled: Quantifying uncertainty in forest measurements and models: Approaches and applications. Many of the papers in this issue will be based on the research presented in the QUEST sessions at the 2014 IUFRO world congress in Salt Lake City, but we encourage the submission of any relevant papers.

The deadline for submissions is April 15, 2015.  The Online First technology allows for immediate online publication after acceptance, so the paper can be cited before the issue appears in print (Fall 2015).

CJFR is published by NRC Research Press, a non for profit organization. Instruction for Authors can be found at: http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/cjfr/authors

During submission you will be asked if the paper is for a special issue. Please respond yes, and when prompted by Scholar One, provide the issue name “Quantifying uncertainty in forest measurements and models: Approaches and applications”. Please also mention the special issue in your cover letter.