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Biomass expansion factors for Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) in Ireland

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Abstract

The assessment of a forest resource in national inventories provides a firm basis for the calculation of biomass and carbon (C) stocks of forests. Biomass expansion factors (BEFs) and conversion factors provide a robust and simple method of converting from forest tree stem volume to total forest biomass. These factors should be constructed on the basis of nationally specific data in order to take account of regional differences in growth rates, management practices, etc. The objective of this study is to improve the accuracy of biomass estimation by calculating a range of age-dependant BEFs from representative data that more accurately describe the allometry of present forests. The results from this study show that the allocation of biomass to compartments in forest stands and throughout a rotation varies considerably, and that the use of BEFs for the calculation of C stocks in forests of sub-timber dimensions is highly impractical.

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Notes

  1. A yield class of 18 m3 ha−1 a−1 means that the stand has the potential to produce 18 m3 per ha per year over a full rotation.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Coillte Teo for allowing access to their forests and the destructive sampling required, and in particular, thanks to Marie Mannion and John O’Brien for providing maps, inventory and management details of all the CARBiFOR project sites surveyed. The Irish National Council for Forest Research and Development (COFORD) provided funding for this work as part of the CARBiFOR research project. Thanks also to the various reviewers whose contributions were invaluable.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological and Environmental Science, Agriculture and Food Science Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland

    Brian Tobin & Maarten Nieuwenhuis

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  1. Brian Tobin
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  2. Maarten Nieuwenhuis
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Correspondence to Brian Tobin.

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Communicated by Hans Pretzsch

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Tobin, B., Nieuwenhuis, M. Biomass expansion factors for Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) in Ireland. Eur J Forest Res 126, 189–196 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-005-0105-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-005-0105-3

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