Estimation of stem and tree level biomass models for Prosopis juliflora/pallida applicable to multi-stemmed tree species
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Estimation of stem and tree level biomass models for Prosopis juliflora/pallida applicable to multi-stemmed tree species Emil Cienciala • Alex Centeio • Petr Blazek • Maria da Cruz Gomes Soares • Radek Russ
Received: 27 August 2012 / Revised: 19 December 2012 / Accepted: 31 January 2013 / Published online: 12 February 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
Abstract The aim of this paper is to develop biomass models for commonly multi-stemmed Prosopis juliflora/ pallida trees. The data were collected on three of the Cape Verde islands (Maio, Santiago and Santo Antao). The dataset covers 240 trees containing 1,882 stems with stem diameter at breast height over 2 cm; of that 255 individual tree stems were sampled destructively. These calibration data were used to construct stem and tree-level models for estimation of total aboveground biomass and its fine and course fractions with diameter threshold of 5 cm. A set of parameterized biomass models for multi-stemmed Prosopis spp. trees suited for biomass estimation at tree and stem levels using appropriate set of independent variables, commonly available in forest inventory programs, was created. The effect of site (island) on tree allometry was not detected. The two-phase construction of tree biomass models based on destructive sampling limited to individual stems combined with a routine field measurement of entire multi-stemmed tree specimen represents a practicable approach leading to biomass and carbon assessment that may be generally suited for tree species with complex multi-stemmed growth form similar to that of Prosopis spp.
Communicated by E. Priesack. E. Cienciala (&) P. Blazek R. Russ Institute of Forest Ecosystem Research (IFER), Areal 1. jilovske a.s., 254 01 Jı´love´ u Prahy, Czech Republic e-mail: [email protected] A. Centeio M. d. Cruz Gomes Soares Ministry of Rural Development, Directorate General for Agriculture, Forestry and Animal Industry (DGASP), Achada Sa˜o Felipe—Praia, C.P.278, Santiago Island, Cape Verde
Keywords Aboveground biomass Carbon Allometric equations Inventory Woody resources
Introduction The Cape Verde islands are relatively small in terms of surface area, but with remarkably wide spectrum of growth conditions that determine occurrence of diverse terrestrial ecosystems. A large part of the land surface is rather warm and dry, representing challenging conditions for most tree species of the tropical zone. In this respect, the outstandingly important woody genus is Prosopis, which has been successfully used in afforestation programs to combat desertification, restore degraded locations and promote sustainable use of land on Cape Verde. This applies also for other arid regions in Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, although on some of these locations Prosopis spp. is also reported to be highly invasive with negative impacts to local ecosystems (Muturi et al. 2010; Zachariades et al. 2011). It should be noted that the taxonomy of Prosopis is rather difficult, because leaves vary in size
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