Site Class Effects on Stump and Coarse Root Biomass Models of Larix olgensis in Northeastern China

Abstract

The stump and coarse root biomass remaining after tree harvesting are often overlooked by researchers, which may lead to underestimation of their role in carbon cycling, so we constructed two sets of additive models for larch (Larix olgensis Henry) plantations in Northeast China. Due to the absence of tree diameter at breast height data after harvesting, only the sole predictor variable stump disc diameter could be used to predict stump and coarse root biomass, and the results showed that stump disc diameter predicted stump biomass with higher accuracy than coarse root biomass predictions. In addition, to investigate the effect of the site class of complex stands on the predictive capability of the model, the generic model in this study was employed with all site class data and a specific model was developed and employed with all the site class data. We found that the generic model had different degrees of error compared to the predicted results for each site class, overestimating the total biomass by 15% and underestimating it by 10%, especially for site class IV. In conclusion, to obtain a biomass prediction model with reliable results, the impact of more complex site class effects should be considered.