A second on-site survey for the construction of a 135-meter forest carbon monitoring tower was completed on May 11 and 12 at the Qingyuan Forest Ecosystem National Field Scientific Observation and Research Station in Liaoning province.

The survey was organized by the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and brought together management and technical personnel from several participating organizations, including the Central Radio and Television Design and Research Institute Co Ltd, which is responsible for the project design, as well as geological survey and engineering management units.

The monitoring tower forms part of a broader project aimed at improving carbon sink monitoring technologies and advancing the development of domestically produced scientific equipment. Carbon sinks refer to natural systems, such as forests, that absorb and store more carbon dioxide than they release, playing an important role in climate-change mitigation.

At the construction site, researcher GAO Tian from the Qingyuan Forest Station outlined the significance of the project, its major construction tasks and the progress already made in geological surveying and engineering design. Participating teams then went through the technical materials required for construction and clarified responsibilities for the field survey work.

Using specialized surveying equipment, the team conducted repeated measurements to confirm the precise location of the tower center and eight anchor points for the supporting cables. Due to the site’s complex terrain, several preliminary anchor-point plans required multiple rounds of adjustment before final positions were determined.

According to the research team, the completion of the second site survey established key technical conditions for the next phase of tower construction and long-term forest carbon monitoring.

Figure 1. Field survey work for the 135-meter forest carbon monitoring tower at the Qingyuan Forest Station.