Development of allometric relationships for accurate estimation of above- and below-ground biomass in tropical secondary forests in Sarawak, Malaysia

Abstract

Abstract:We developed allometric relationships between tree size parameters (stem diameter at breast height (dbh), at ground surface (D0) and tree height) and leaf, stem, small-root (diameter <5 mm) and total root biomass in various tropical secondary-forest trees in Sarawak, Malaysia. In total, 136 individuals from 23 species were harvested to measure above-ground parts. Root systems of 77 individuals of 16 species were also excavated. The coefficients of correlation for the obtained allometric relationships between tree diameter and plant-part biomass showed high values, ranging from 0.83 to 0.99. In addition, there were few interspecific differences in relationships for all biomass parts, except for leaves. We also found relatively high coefficients of allometric relationships between tree height and plant-part biomass ranging from 0.83 to 0.94. Comparison of above- and below-ground biomass equations for various tropical rainforests implies that our allometric equations differ largely from the equations for tropical primary forests. Thus, choosing both above- and below-ground allometric equations for biomass estimation in tropical secondary forests of South-East Asia requires careful consideration of their suitability.

Seeing trees from space: above-ground biomass estimates of intact and degraded montane rainforests from high-resolution optical imagery

“…In addition, patches with AGB exceeding 200 Mg ha -1 were classified as intact forest; this threshold is widely used to differentiate intact and degraded tropical forests (Asner 2002, Morel et al 2012. We used allometric equations developed specifically for Bornean rainforest trees (Yamakura et al 1986, Basuki et al 2009, Kenzo et al 2009). The AGB (kg) of trees in intact forests was calculated from DBH (cm) as follows (eqn.…”

A review of forest and tree plantation biomass equations in Indonesia

“…Chave et al (2005) developed benchmark models for the tropics involving diameter, wood density, and height according to forest types. Although Chave's models perform reasonably well in certain sites in Southeast Asia (Rutishauser et al 2013) and Africa (Vieilledent et al 2012;Fayolle et al 2013), most of the other studies show higher uncertainty in biomass estimates compared to those developed locally (Basuki et al 2009;Kenzo et al 2009a;van Breugel et al 2011;Alvarez et al 2012;Goodman et al 2014). In another recent benchmark pantropical study, Feldpausch et al (2012) showed substantial variation in biomass distribution and forest structure among regions and continents and concluded that future biomass models based on continents and regions may prove more robust than pantropical models.…”

Vulnerability of tropical forest ecosystems and forest dependent communities to droughts

“…The belowground root productivity in this database is a combination of coarse (generally >2mm diameter) as well as fine root (generally <2mm diameter) data. Most estimates of coarse root biomass and productivity are a ratio developed from allometric relationships developed for a particular species (e.g., Kenzo et al 2009). However fine root NPP data were obtained from direct measures of fine root growth using a diversity of field sampling methods (e.g., root cores, in-growth cores, mini-rhizotrons, etc).…”