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Allometric models for aboveground biomass of six common subtropical shrubs and small trees

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Abstract

The aboveground biomass (AGB) of shrubs and small trees is the main component for the productivity and carbon storage of understory vegetation in subtropical secondary forests. However, few allometric models exist to accurately evaluate understory biomass. To estimate the AGB of five common shrub (diameter at base < 5 cm, < 5 m high) and one small tree species (< 8 m high, trees’s seedling), 206 individuals were harvested and species-specific and multi-species allometric models developed based on four predictors, height (H), stem diameter (D), crown area (Ca), and wood density (ρ). As expected, the six species possessed greater biomass in their stems compared with branches, with the lowest biomass in the leaves. Species-specific allometric models that employed stem diameter and the combined variables of D2H and ρDH as predictors accurately estimated the components and total AGB, with R2 values from 0.602 and 0.971. A multi-species shrub allometric model revealed that wood density × diameter × height (ρDH) was the best predictor, with R2 values ranging from between 0.81 and 0.89 for the components and total AGB, respectively. These results indicated that height (H) and diameter (D) were effective predictors for the models to estimate the AGB of the six species, and the introduction of wood density (ρ) improved their accuracy. The optimal models selected in this study could be applied to estimate the biomass of shrubs and small trees in subtropical regions.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Yunhua Xu and Yougeng Xu (Forest Station of Qiaomu Township) and Xiaoyu Lu, Mingyuan Gu, Mengyu Zhou, Xinxin Tian, Hong Yu, and Chagjian Qi (Anhui Agricultural University) for their support in the collection of field data and biomass processing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Anhui Agricultural University, 130 Changjiang West Road, Hefei, 230036, Anhui, People’s Republic of China

    Cheng Huang, Chun Feng, Yuhua Ma, Hua Liu, Zhaocheng Wang, Shaobo Yang, Wenjing Wang & Songling Fu

  2. Faculty of Natural Resources Management, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, ON, P7B 5E1, Canada

    Han Y. H. Chen

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  1. Cheng Huang
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  2. Chun Feng
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  3. Yuhua Ma
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  4. Hua Liu
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  5. Zhaocheng Wang
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  6. Shaobo Yang
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  7. Wenjing Wang
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  8. Songling Fu
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  9. Han Y. H. Chen
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Contributions

CH and CF have contributed equally. SF, HYHC, and CF conceived and designed the study; CH, YM, SY, and WW collected data; CH and HL analyzed the data; CH, CF, SF, and HYHC wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Songling Fu or Han Y. H. Chen.

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Project funding: The work was supported by the Special Major Science and Technology Project of Anhui Province (S202103b06020066) and the 2020 Annual Graduate Innovation Fund of Anhui Agricultural University (2020YSJ-21).

The online version is available at http://www.springerlink.com

Corresponding editor: Tao Xu

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Huang, C., Feng, C., Ma, Y. et al. Allometric models for aboveground biomass of six common subtropical shrubs and small trees. J. For. Res. 33, 1317–1328 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-021-01411-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-021-01411-y

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