Tree allometry and improved estimation of carbon stocksand balance in tropical forests

Tropical forests hold large stores of carbon, yet uncertainty remains regarding their quantitative contribution to the global carbon cycle. One approach to quantifying carbon biomass stores consists in inferring changes from long-term forest inventory plots. Regression models are used to convert inventory data into an estimate of aboveground biomass (AGB). We provide a critical reassessment of the quality and the robustness of these models across tropical forest types, using a large dataset of 2,410 trees ≥ 5 cm diameter, directly harvested in 27 study sites across the tropics. Proportional relationships between aboveground biomass and the product of wood density, trunk cross-sectional area, and total height are constructed. We also develop a regression model involving wood density and stem diameter only. Our models were tested for secondary and old-growth forests, for dry, moist and wet forests, for lowland and montane forests, and for mangrove forests. The most important predictors of AGB of a tree were, in decreasing order of importance, its trunk diameter, wood specific gravity, total height, and forest type (dry, moist, or wet). Overestimates prevailed, giving a bias of 0.5–6.5% when errors were averaged across all stands. Our regression models can be used reliably to predict aboveground tree biomass across a broad range of tropical forests. Because they are based on an unprecedented dataset, these models should improve the quality of tropical biomass estimates, and bring consensus about the contribution of the tropical forest biome and tropical deforestation to the global carbon cycle.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	56791 Chave, Jérôme Université Paul Sabatier, Tolouse, France, 42664 Andalo, C. (autor/a) Université Paul Sabatier, Tolouse, France, 51456 Brown, S (autor/a), 52703 Cairns, Michael A. (autor/a), 56358 Chambers, J.Q. (autor/a), 64244 Eamus, D. (autor/a), 69626 Fölster, H. (autor/a), 69290 Fromard, F. (autor/a), 78016 Higuchi, Niro (autor/a), 83170 Kira, T. (autor/a), 86211 Lescure, J.P. (autor/a), 98952 Nelson, Bruce W. (autor/a), 100570 Ogawa, H. (autor/a), 107120 Puig, H. (autor/a), 111314 Riéra, Bernard (autor/a), 349194 Yamakura, T. (autor/a)
Format:	Texto biblioteca
Language:	eng
Published:	Alemania Springer-Verlag 2005
Subjects:	BIOMASA, CARBONO, ALMACENAMIENTO, ALOMETRIA, MODELOS, BOSQUE TROPICAL, ARBOLES, MEDICION, INVENTARIOS FORESTALES, CICLO DEL CARBONO, MODELOS DE REGRESION, BIOMASA AEREA, ECUACIONES ALOMETRICAS, BIOMASS, CARBON, STORAGE, MODELS, TROPICAL FORESTS, TREES, MEASUREMENT, FOREST INVENTORIES, CARBON CYCLE,
Online Access:	https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00442-005-0100-x
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