Biomass distribution among tropical tree species grown under differing regional climates

Abstract

a b s t r a c tIn the Neotropics, there is a growing interest in establishing plantations of native tree species for commerce, local consumption, and to replant on abandoned agricultural lands. Although numerous trial plantations have been established, comparative information on the performance of native trees under different regional environments is generally lacking. In this study, we evaluated the accumulation and partitioning of above-ground biomass in 16 native and two exotic tree species growing in replicated species selection trials in Panama under humid and dry regional environments. Seven of the 18 species accumulated greater total biomass at the humid site than at the dry site over a two-year period. Speciesspecific biomass partitioning among leaves, branches and trunks was observed. However, a wide range of total biomass found among species (from 1.06 kg for Dipteryx panamensis to 29.84 kg for Acacia mangium at Soberania) justified the used of an Aitchison log ratio transformation to adjust for size. When biomass partitioning was adjusted for size, a majority of these differences proved to be a result of the ability of the tree to support biomass components rather than the result of differences in the regional environments at the two sites. These findings were confirmed by comparative ANCOVAs on Aitchison-transformed and non-Aitchison-transformed variables. In these comparisons, basal diameter, height and diameter at breast height were robust predictors of biomass for the pooled data from both sites, but Aitchison-transformed variables had little predictive power.

Quantifying Tree Biomass Carbon Stocks and Fluxes in Agricultural Landscapes

“…Furthermore, complete datasets are in many cases not necessary to provide a reasonable estimate of biomass because inclusion of all parameters only moderately increases the accuracy of the total estimate. For example, inclusion of DBH alone provided an estimate within 1.5 % of the actual biomass measured in an agricultural landscape of Western Kenya (Kuyah and Rosenstock in review), which agrees with most studies (Cole and Ewel 2006 ;Basuki et al 2009 ;Bastien-Henri et al 2010 ). Given the complexities and potential errors in measuring other parameters (i.e., diffi cult terrain or dense foliage when measuring height), the need for specialized tools (e.g., hypsometer or clinometer for height), or destructive measurements (e.g., wood density), the use of DBH alone appears cost-effective and robust for most purposes (Sileshi 2014 ).…”

Growth, biomass, and energy quality of Acacia mangium timber grown at different spacings

“…This range is low, if one compares it to the species performance reported for the best sites, where MAI ranged from 35 to 45 m 3 ha -1 per year (Vélez & Del Valle, 2007). The rainfall regime, mainly during dry season, which influences water availability in the soil (toughness), has a strong impact on the productivity, biomass accumulation, and partitioning of A. mangium (Bastien-Henri et al, 2010;Hung et al, 2016). Dry periods longer than two months, as well as prolonged dry seasons equal to or longer than six months, lead to a growth-rate reduction, and may limit the commercial cultivation of this species (Mead & Miller, 1991).…”

Allometric Models Based on Bayesian Frameworks Give Better Estimates of Aboveground Biomass in the Miombo Woodlands

“…There are few models that include height as a second variable to DBH, e.g., Chamshama et al [22]. The lack of models that include height and crown area may be attributed to difficulties associated with measuring these variables and an inability to measure them accurately-errors are pronounced for taller trees and trees with intersecting crowns [36]-and to the marginal value in improving the accuracy of allometric models when included as predictor variables along with DBH [33,37].…”