Above ground and below ground biomass in grey alder Alnus incana (L.) Moench. young stands on agricultural land in central part of Latvia
Latvian State Forest Research Institute ‘Silava’, Rigas street 111, LV2169 Salaspils, Latvia; *Correspondence: andis.bardulis@silava.lv
Abstract:
Young grey alder stands under 10 years of age that are growing on abandoned agricultural lands in Central Latvian lowlands were selected for this study. In the framework of the research the biomass of the trees was studied and an equation was developed for grey alder stands on abandoned agricultural lands. An allometric equation for the different biomass fractions of grey alder was developed. Tree biomass is characterised by a power model with a single independent variable (DBH), which also indirectly substitutes for the effect of the stand age. The model is adapted to each fraction by changing its ratio values. The determination coefficient of the model is high, varying from R2 = 0.89 to R2 = 0.94, and the confidence level of the model is 95%. The biomass of particular fractions is defined by a power regression, with the tree stem diameter at the height of 1.3 m used as an argument. In young grey alder stands on abandoned agricultural lands the majority, 64%, of root fractions is composed of coarse roots, followed by the stump fraction and fine roots, 28% and 8%, respectively. For aboveground biomass the largest fraction is stem, which constitutes 75% of the total aboveground biomass, while the share of branches is 25%.
Key words:
allometric equations, branches, coarse roots, fine roots, power model., stem, stump