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Equations for estimating aboveground biomass of cadaghi (Corymbia torelliana) trees in farm windbreaks

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Abstract

Agroforestry systems have received global attention lately as a strategy for carbon mitigation but still are one of the least studied systems. This study was conducted in south Florida to develop biomass equations for windbreak grown cadaghi (Corymbia torelliana) trees and to estimate biomass in various aged windbreaks. Trees were selected for destructive sampling based on diameter at breast height (DBH) distribution from five windbreaks. Crown biomass was estimated using randomized branch sampling (RBS) and trunk biomass by taking disks every 1.5 m along the stem. Separate nonlinear equations were developed for crown, trunk and whole tree biomass estimation using DBH and height as predictors. Results indicated that DBH alone was sufficient to predict aboveground biomass, but including height in the models gave better results. Average oven-dry whole tree biomass ranged between 6 and 935 kg for 2- and 20-year-old windbreaks. Oven-dry whole tree biomass per100 m windbreak length in the same windbreaks ranged between 166 and 26,605 kg. Because fast-growing cadaghi is efficient and can produce significantly more biomass in a short period versus other windbreak species, landowners can expect higher returns from biomass or carbon trade over a shorter period, where available, to offset the cost of land occupied by the windbreaks.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by a grant from Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (Southern Region) Program (GS08-075). We would like to thank Chuck Obern and his staff at C&B Farms for providing necessary equipment during the field work. We also appreciate the assistance of Paul Proctor, Brian Becker, Bill McKinstry, Prakash Subedi and Kathy Slifer during biomass sampling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, P.O. Box 110410, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Bijay Tamang, Michael G. Andreu & Donald L. Rockwood

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, P.O. Box 870344, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA

    Christina L. Staudhammer

  3. Center for Agroforestry, University of Missouri, 203 Anheuser Busch Natural Resources Bldg, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    Shibu Jose

  4. P.O. Box 180438, Tallahassee, FL, 32318, USA

    Bijay Tamang

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  1. Bijay Tamang
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  2. Michael G. Andreu
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  3. Christina L. Staudhammer
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  4. Donald L. Rockwood
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  5. Shibu Jose
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Correspondence to Bijay Tamang.

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Tamang, B., Andreu, M.G., Staudhammer, C.L. et al. Equations for estimating aboveground biomass of cadaghi (Corymbia torelliana) trees in farm windbreaks. Agroforest Syst 86, 255–266 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-012-9490-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-012-9490-z

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