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.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anon (1996a) Growing for the future. A strategic plan for the development of the forestry sector in Ireland. Department of Agriculture, Stationary Office, Dublin
Anon (1996b) Second national communication under the United Nations framework convention on climate change. Department of Environment, Dublin
Anon (2000) Code of best forest practice—Ireland. Forest service. Department of Marine and Natural Resource, Dublin
Bartelink HH (1996) Allometric relationships on biomass and needle area of Douglas-fir. For Ecol Manage 86:193–203
Bazzaz FA, Grace J (eds) (1997) Plant resource allocation. Academic, London
Black K, Tobin B, Saiz G, Byrne KA, Osborne B (2004) Improved estimates of biomass expansion factors for Sitka spruce. Ir For 61:50–65
Brown S (2002) Measuring carbon in forests: current status and future challenges. Environ Pollut 116:363–372
Brown S, Gillespie AJR, Lugo AE (1989) Biomass estimation methods for tropical forests with applications to forest inventory data. For Sci 35:881–902
Brown SL, Schroeder P, Kern JS (1999) Spatial distribution of biomass in forests of the eastern USA. For Ecol Manage 123:81–90
Cairns MA, Brown S, Helmer EH, Baumgardner GA (1997) Root biomass allocation in the world’s upland forests. Oecologia 111:1–11
Carey ML, O’Brien D (1979) Biomass, nutrient content and distribution in a stand of Sitka spruce. Ir For 36:25–35
Chhabra A, Palria S, Dadhwal VK (2002) Growing stock-based forest biomass estimate for India. Biomass Bioenergy 22:187–194
Deans JD (1981) Dynamics of coarse root production in a young plantation of Picea sitchensis. Forestry 54:139–155
Fuwape JA, Onyekwelu JC, Adekunle VAJ (2001) Biomass equations and estimation for Gmelina arborea and Nauclea diderrichii stands in Akure forest reserve. Biomass Bioenergy 21:401–405
Gallagher G, Hendrick E, Byrne KA (2004) Preliminary estimates of biomass carbon stocks in managed forests in the Republic of Ireland over the period 1990–2000. Ir For 61:35–46
Grier CC, Vogt KA, Keyes MR, Edmonds RL (1981) Biomass distribution and above- and below-ground production in young and mature Abies amabilis zone ecosystems of the Washington Cascades. Can J For Res 11:155–167
Hamilton GJ (1975) Forest mensuration handbook. H.M.S.O., London
Hamilton GJ, Christie JM (1971) Forest management tables. H.M.S.O., London
Horgan T, Keane M, McCarthy R, Lally M, Thompson D (2003) A guide to forest tree species selection and silviculture in Ireland. COFORD, Dublin
Ilic J, Boland D, McDonald M, Downes G, Blackmore P (2000) Wood density. Phase 1—state of knowledge. National carbon accounting system technical report No. 18 Australian Greenhouse Office, Canberra
Joyce PM, OCarroll N (2002) Sitka spruce in Ireland. COFORD, Dublin
Kilbride CM, Byrne KA, Gardiner JJ (1999) Carbon sequestration and Irish forests. COFORD, Dublin
Lehtonen A, Makipaa R, Heikkinen J, Sievanen R, Liski J (2004) Biomass expansion factors (BEFs) for Scots pine, Norway spruce and Birch according to stand age for boreal forests. For Ecol Manage 188:211–224
Levy PE, Hale SE, Nicoll BC (2004) Biomass expansion factors and root:shoot ratios for coniferous tree species in Great Britain. Forestry 77:421–430
Lowe H, Seufert G, Raes F (2000) Comparison of methods used within member states for estimating CO2 emissions and sinks according to UNFCCC and EU monitoring mechanisms: forest and other wooded land. Biotechnol Agron Soc Environ 4:315–319
Penman J, Gytarsky M, Hiraishi T, Krug T, Kruger T, Pipatti D, Buendia L, Miwa K, Ngara T, Tanabe T, Wagner F (eds) (2004) IPCC good practice guidance for land use, land use change and forestry. Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan
Pilcher JR, Mac an tSaoir S (eds) (1995) Wood, trees and forests in Ireland. Royal Irish Academy, Dublin
Snowdon P (1985) Effects of fertilizer and family on the homogeneity of biomass regressions for young Pinus radiata. Aust For Res 5:135–140
Snowdon P (1992) Ratio methods for estimating forest biomass. N Z J For Sci 22:54–62
Snowdon P, Raison J, Grierson P, Adams M, Montagu K, Bi H, Burrows W, Eamus D (2002) Protocol for sampling tree and stand biomass. National carbon accounting system technical report No. 31. Australian Greenhouse Office, Canberra
SPSS Inc. (2001) SPSS for Windows, Release 11.0.1. SPSS Inc., Chicago
Ter-Mikaelian MT, Korzukhin MD (1997) Biomass equations for sixty-five North American tree species. For Ecol Manage 97:1–24
Wang JR, Letchford T, Comeau P, Kimmins JP (2000) Above- and below-ground biomass and nutrient distribution of a paper birch and subalpine fir mixed-species stand in the Sub-Boreal Spruce zone of British Columbia. For Ecol Manage 130:17–26
Williams CJ, LePage BA, Vann DR, Tange T, Ikeda H, Ando M, Kusakabe T, Tsuzuki H, Sweda T (2003) Structure, allometry, and biomass of plantation Metasequoia glyptostroboides in Japan. For Ecol Manage 180:287–301
Wirth C, Schumacher J, Schulze ED (2004) Generic biomass functions for Norway spruce in Central Eurpoe—a meta-analysis approach toward prediction and uncertainty estimation. Tree Physiol 24:121–139
Zianis D, Mencuccini M (2004) On simplifying allometric analyses of forest biomass. For Ecol Manage 187:311–332
Acknowledgements
This study was funded by Bord na Móna, the European Commission: Programme Environment Sustainable Development through the CarboInvent project (Contract number: EVK2-2002-00157) and the Irish National Council for Forest Research and Development (COFORD). Laboratory assistance was provided by Martine Maudoux and various reviewers made improvements to previous drafts.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by Hans Pretzsch
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Green, C., Tobin, B., O’Shea, M. et al. Above- and belowground biomass measurements in an unthinned stand of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong) Carr.). Eur J Forest Res 126, 179–188 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-005-0093-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-005-0093-3