Above- and belowground biomass measurements in an unthinned stand of Sitka spruce (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Picea sitchensis</Emphasis> (Bong) Carr.) |
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Authors: | Carly Green Brian Tobin Michael O’Shea Edward P Farrell Kenneth A Byrne |
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Institution: | (1) Forest Ecosystem Research Group, School of Biological and Environmental Science, Agriculture and Food Science Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland;(2) Department of Crop Science, Horticulture and Forestry, School of Biological and Environmental Science, Agriculture and Food Science Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland;(3) Coillte Teoranta, The Irish Forestry Board, Cork, Ireland;(4) Centre for Hydrology, Micrometeorology and Climate Change, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland |
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Abstract: | Reporting carbon (C) stocks in tree biomass (above- and belowground) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) should be transparent and verifiable. The development of nationally specific data is considered ‘good practice’
to assist in meeting these reporting requirements. From this study, biomass functions were developed for estimating above-
and belowground C stock in a 19-year-old stand of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong) Carr.). Our estimates were then tested against current default values used for reporting in Ireland and literature
equations. Ten trees were destructively sampled to develop aboveground and tree component biomass equations. The roots were
excavated and a root:shoot (R) ratio developed to estimate belowground biomass. Application of the total aboveground biomass function yielded a C stock
estimate for the stand of 74 tonnes C ha−1, with an uncertainty of 7%. The R ratio was determined to be 0.23, with an uncertainty of 10%. The C stock estimate of the belowground biomass component was
then calculated to be 17 tonnes C ha−1, with an uncertainty of 12%. The equivalent C stock estimate from the biomass expansion factor (BEF) method, applying Ireland’s
currently reported default values for BEF (inclusive of belowground biomass), wood density and C concentration and methods
for estimating volume, was found to be 60 tonnes C ha−1, with an uncertainty of 26%. We found that volume tables, currently used for determining merchantable timber volume in Irish
forestry conditions, underestimated volume since they did not extend to the yield of the forest under investigation. Mean
stock values for belowground biomass compared well with that generated using published models. |
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Keywords: | Biomass allocation Roots Biomass expansion factors Biomass functions Uncertainty analysis Sitka spruce Peatland forestry Ireland |
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