Construction of Additive Allometric Biomass Models for Young Trees of Two Dominate Species in Beijing, China

Abstract

The traditional volume-derived biomass method is limited because it does not fully consider the carbon sink of young trees, which leads to the underestimation of the carbon sink capacity of a forest ecosystem. Therefore, there is an urgent need to establish an allometric biomass model of young trees to provide a quantitative basis for accurately estimating the carbon storage and carbon sink of young trees. The destructive data that were used in this study included the biomass of the young trees of the two dominant species (Betula pendula subsp. mandshurica (Regel) Ashburner & McAll and Populus × tomentosa Carrière) in China, which was composed of the aboveground biomass (Ba), belowground biomass (Bb), and total biomass (Bt). Univariate and bivariate dimensions were selected and five candidate biomass models were independently tested. Two additive allometric biomass model systems of young trees were established using the proportional function control method and algebraic sum control method, respectively. We found that the logistic function was the most suitable for explaining the allometric growth relationship between the Ba, Bt, and diameter at breast height (D) of young trees; the power function was the most suitable for explaining the allometric growth relationship between the Bb and D of young trees. When compared with the independent fitting model, the two additive allometric biomass model systems provide additive biomass prediction which reflects the conditions in reality. The accuracy of the Bt models and Ba models was higher, while the accuracy of the Bb models was lower. In terms of the two dimensions—univariate and bivariate, we found that the bivariate additive allometric biomass model system was more accurate. In the univariate dimension, the proportional function control method was superior to the algebraic sum control method. In the bivariate dimension, the algebraic sum control method was superior to the proportional function control method. The additive allometric biomass models provide a reliable basis for estimating the biomass of young trees and realizing the additivity of the biomass components, which has broad application prospects, such as the monitoring of carbon stocks and carbon sink evaluation.

Keywords

• young tree
• forest carbon sink
• allometric growth
• additive model