ALU Software Design
The program can be used to estimate emissions and removals associated with biomass C stocks, soil C stocks, soil nitrous oxide emissions, rice methane emissions, enteric methane emissions, manure methane and nitrous oxide emissions, as well as non-CO2 GHG emissions from biomass burning. Methods are based on guidelines provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Two versions of the ALU software are available:
Version 6.0 based on the methods in the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories
Version 4.5 based on the methods in the revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines and refined in the IPCC Good Practice Guidance Documents from 2000 and 2003.
The software has several innovative features:
- Accommodates Tier 1 and 2 methods as defined by the IPCC
- Allows compilers to integrate GIS spatial data along with national statistics on agriculture and forestry
- Designed to produce a consistent and complete representation of land use for inventory assessment
- Can develop an enhanced characterization for livestock
- Has explicit quality control and quality assurance steps
- Provides a long-term archive of data and results in digital format
- Generates emission reports that can be included in communications with interested parties
