Estimation and modeling of the biomass and carbon storage in the stump and root of Populus deltoides

Abstract

Carbon storage in plant biomass is the simplest and most economically viable way to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide carbon dioxide concentration. The objective of this study was to estimate and model the biomass and carbon storage of the stump and root in Populus deltoides trees in afforestation, Guilan Province of Iran. For this purpose, 93 trees with 25 years old were selected from different diameter classes and after cutting and removing the sections, an excavator was used to unearth the stumps and roots of the trees from the soil. In order to estimate the biomass and carbon storage of tree stumps and roots, samples of these components were isolated and weighed, and after drying in the oven, the dry weight of the samples was measured. The carbon content of stumps and roots of the trees were calculated after burning the dried samples in an electric furnace. The results showed that the biomass of stumps and roots was 7.99 and 65.5 kg per tree, respectively, and the carbon content of stumps and roots was estimated to be 3.92 and 32.32 kg per tree, respectively. The results of allometric equations showed that the models for estimating biomass and carbon storage of stumps and roots using the tree stump diameter variable had a high coefficient of determination, but the model using the stump height had no acceptable coefficient of determination. The evaluation results of different models also showed that the power model was more accurate than other models. In general, the results showed that the carbon stored in stumps and roots was 1.568 and 12.928 tons per hectare, respectively.

Keywords

• Allometric equations
• Plantation
• Sequestered carbon
• Wood farming