INCAS Standard Method – Spatial Allocation of Regimes

The Standard method—spatial allocation of regimes describes the process used by the INCAS for defining areas used for each management regime in quantifying GHG emissions and removals from activities occurring on forest lands (including natural forests, timber plantations and selected estate crops—oil palm and rubber—on former forest land). This includes data collation, data analysis, quality control, and quality assurance.

Data were collated from national and provincial level government agencies and organisations involved in land management. Spatial forest cover and forest cover change data was developed by LAPAN as part of the INCAS programme (see Standard method—forest cover change).

These data are used to create a series of ‘suites’, which describe the conditions under which a land management regime can occur. Areas were allocated to a management regime based on suite characteristics and repeated for each year of the simulation period (i.e. 2001–2012). Areas subject to observed change (i.e. change detected from the LAPAN forest-cover change analysis) were assigned to regimes based on the location, timing, and direction of change in conjunction with the other suite characteristics.

A spatial layer showing the geographic extent of each suite was created for each simulation year (i.e. annually 2001–2012). From this, annual area by regime was derived.

Full details of the Standard method—spatial allocation of regimes are available here.