Tree biomass equations for Abiesbalsamea and Piceaglauca in northwestern New Brunswick

1981 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. F. Ker ◽  
G. D. Van Raalte

Equations are given, based on data from 298 balsam fir and 88 white spruce trees in northwestern New Brunswick, for predicting ovendry weight of biomass for balsam fir and white spruce trees. Separate equations are given for each of nine components: stem wood, stem bark, total stem, branches, foliage, total crown, total aboveground weight, roots, and total tree. Independent variables used in the equations include diameter at breast height (dbh), height, crown width, crown length, and indices of basal area, crown area, and crown volume.

1989 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. Whitney

In an 11-year study in northern Ontario, root rot damage was heaviest in balsam fir, intermediate in black spruce, and least in white spruce. As a result of root rot, 16, 11, and 6%, respectively, of dominant or codominant trees of the three species were killed or experienced premature windfall. Butt rot, which resulted from the upward extension of root rot into the boles of living trees, led to a scaled cull of 17, 12, and 10%, respectively, of gross merchantable volume of the remaining living trees in the three species. The total volume of wood lost to rot was, therefore, 33, 23, and 16%, respectively. Of 1108 living dominant and codominant balsam fir, 1243 black spruce, and 501 white spruce in 165 stands, 87, 68, and 63%, respectively, exhibited some degree of advanced root decay. Losses resulting from root rot increased with tree age. Significant amounts of root decay and stain (>30% of root volume) first occurred at 60 years of age in balsam fir and 80 years in black spruce and white spruce. For the three species together, the proportion of trees that were dead and windfallen as a result of root rot increased from an average of 3% at 41–50 years to 13% at 71–80 years and 26% at 101–110 years. The root rot index, based on the number of dead and windfallen trees and estimated loss of merchantable volume, also increased, from an average of 17 at 41–50 years to 40 at 71–80 years and 53 at 101–110 years. Death and windfall of balsam fir and black spruce were more common in northwestern Ontario than in northeastern Ontario. Damage to balsam fir was greater in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Forest region than in the Boreal Forest region. In all three tree species, the degree of root rot (decay and stain) was highly correlated with the number of dead and windfallen trees, stand age, and root decay at ground level (as a percentage of basal area) for a 10-tree sample.


Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Yang ◽  
Wenyan Xue ◽  
Shichuan Yu ◽  
Jianyun Zhou ◽  
Wenhui Zhang

We studied the effects of stand age on allocation and equation fitting of aboveground and below-ground biomass in four Quercus acutissima stands (14, 31, 46, and 63 years old) in the Central Loess Plateau of China. The stem wood, stem bark, branch, foliage, and belowground biomass of each of the 20 destructive harvesting trees were quantified. The mean total biomass of each tree was 28.8, 106.8, 380.6, and 603.4 kg/tree in the 14-, 31-, 46-, and 63-year-old stands, respectively. Aboveground biomass accounted for 72.25%, 73.05%, 76.14%, and 80.37% of the total tree biomass in the 14-, 31-, 46-, and 63-year-old stands, respectively, and stem wood was the major component of tree biomass. The proportion of stem (with bark) biomass to total tree biomass increased with stand age while the proportions of branch, foliage, and belowground biomass to total tree biomass decreased with stand age. The ratio of belowground biomass to aboveground biomass decreased from 0.39 in the 14-year-old stand to 0.37, 0.31, and 0.24 in the 31-, 46-, and 63-year-old stands, respectively. Age-specific biomass equations in each stand were developed for stem wood, stem bark, aboveground, and total tree. The inclusion of tree height as a second variable improved the total tree biomass equation fitting for middle-aged (31-year-old and 46-year-old) stands but not young (14 years old) and mature (63 years old) stands. Moreover, biomass conversion and expansion factors (BCEFs) varied with stand age, showing a decreasing trend with increasing stand age. These results indicate that stand age alters the biomass allocation of Q. acutissima and results in age-specific allometric biomass equations and BCEFs. Therefore, to obtain accurate estimates of Q. acutissima forest biomass and carbon stocks, age-specific changes need to be considered.


2006 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 572-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristian Morgenstern ◽  
Margaret Penner

Twenty-five provenances of white spruce were planted in 1963 in 144-tree plots and three replications as part of a provenance test series for eastern Canada. The experiment was well maintained and thinned to 50% of its original stocking in 1986 (age 26 years from seed).Measurements at age 44 were subjected to analyses of variance and correlation and compared with height and survival at age 15. The results demonstrated that at age 15, identification of the best provenances is ineffective because of changes in rank and the late expression of survival differences. At age 44, significant differences among provenances were observed for survival, mean height, diameter, basal area, and volume. The greatest volume was produced by a provenance from Cushing in the Ottawa Valley in Quebec, 287 m3 per ha, which was 11% greater than the volume of the local provenance, Chalk River, Ontario. When ranked on the basis of survival and volume, the best eight provenances included five from Quebec, and one each from New Brunswick, Ontario, and Wisconsin. The experiment shows that at the appropriate stage in a selection program, large plots can yield significant results, which has important implications for the design of experiments. Key words: provenance tests, jack pine, experimental design, growth and yield


1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 1684-1693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie R. Coyea ◽  
Hank A. Margolis

The ratio between projected leaf area (LA) and cross-sectional sapwood area (SA) of dominant and codominant balsam fir trees (Abiesbalsamea (L.) Mill.) was determined in 24 forest stands across the province of Quebec. Various physical factors proposed in the Whitehead hydraulic model, and some of the easily measured surrogates of these factors, were tested for their influence on LA:SA ratios. Average growing season vapor pressure deficit, temperature, precipitation, and stand drainage class did not significantly influence LA:SA ratios. On the other hand, LA:SA ratios were positively influenced by sapwood permeability (k), tree height, and crown length. As suggested by the model, there was a positive correlation between sapwood permeability and LA:SA ratio and a negative correlation between tree height or crown length and LA/(SA k). Increases in sapwood permeability with tree age were associated with longer tracheids having larger lumen diameters. Of the various empirical factors tested, only site quality, 5-year basal area growth, and age had a significant influence on LA:SA ratios. Sapwood cross-sectional area at breast height by itself was a reasonable linear predictor of LA for all stands (LA = −0.158 + 0.709 SABH, R2 = 0.75). Using the variables that were previously determined to influence LA:SA ratios, stepwise regressions revealed that only crown length and 5-year basal area growth significantly improved linear predictions of LA based on sapwood area. However, the increase in R2 was relatively modest, i.e., 0.83 for all three independent variables versus 0.75 for SA alone. The results from this study will be useful in integrating physiologically based measurements, such as growth efficiency, into standard forest inventory practices for balsam fir and thus could be beneficial in developing new silvicultural strategies for protecting Quebec's forest resource.


1972 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Pnevmaticos ◽  
T. A. Jaeger ◽  
E. Perem

The factors influencing green weight of black spruce and balsam fir stems were investigated. It was found that for black spruce stems, moisture content and sapwood content could be predicted by the age and height of the tree. For balsam fir, however, it was difficult to establish meaningful correlations. Stem bark volume was well correlated for both species with diameter at breast height. Regression equations for stem green density with different combinations of independent variables estimated at breast height were developed; it was found that breast height specific gravity and moisture content were the most important variables in predicting stem green density. Stem wood volume was very well correlated with stem weight immediately after felling.


1976 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rene Doucet ◽  
John V. Berglund ◽  
C. Eugene Farnsworth

Dry matter production data were obtained for jack pine (Pinusbanksiana Lamb.) stands growing at three density levels on two sites. Regression equations relating tree weight to diameter and height were calculated for stem wood, stem bark, branches, needles, cones, and total aboveground biomass, as well as for periodic net annual increment of these components. Different sets of equations were needed to evaluate biomass on each site, but density levels within sites could be grouped. Total net periodic annual weight increment was linearly related to foliage weight and basal area, but a levelling-off at higher densities was evident when basal area was replaced by stand density index or bole area equivalent as the measure of density.


1985 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold O. Batzer ◽  
Michael P. Popp

Plots in 24 spruce-fir stands in northeastern Minnesota studied throughout the period 1957 to 1962 at the time of a spruce budworm outbreak were remeasured in 1979. Composition of the overstory changed from an average of 79% of the basal area in host species before to 31% after the budworm outbreak. Twelve percent of the stands showed growth in nonhost species that more than offset the loss in balsam fir and white spruce. The understory was minimally stocked with balsam fir in two-thirds of the stands. Only 4% of the regeneration was spruce. Even so, some well-established white spruce seedlings were found in two-thirds of the stands. Red maple was the most abundant hardwood invader. Raspberry, hazel and mountain maple were the principal shrub species limiting balsam fir reproduction Shrubs were most abundant in stands where balsam fir mortality had exceeded 80%. Half of the stands had seedlings that originated both before and after the outbreak; 45% had seedlings that originated only after the outbreak; and 5% had seedlings that originated only before the outbreak. Stands having moderate mixture of nonhost species in the over-story prior to the budworm outbreak had the most balsam fir regeneration. This resulted from seed produced by surviving balsam fir trees after the outbreak. Key words: Choristoneura fumiferana, Abies balsamea, Balsam fir, spruce-fir shrubs


2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 370-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
David F Greene ◽  
Christian Messier ◽  
Hugo Asselin ◽  
Marie-Josée Fortin

Mean annual seed production is assumed to be proportional to basal area for canopy trees, but it is not known if subcanopy trees produce fewer seeds than expected (given their size) because of low light availability. Ovulate cone production was examined for balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) and white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) in 1998 and for balsam fir in 2000 in western Quebec using subcanopy stems, near or far from forest edges, or (at one site) planted white spruce trees in fully open conditions. A very simple light model for transmission through mature trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) crowns and through boles near forest edges was developed to account for the effect of light receipt on cone production. The enhanced light near forest edges (e.g., recent clearcuts) leads to about a doubling of cone production for subcanopy stems. The minimum subcanopy height for cone production far from an edge is about 10 m for balsam fir and 14 m for white spruce, with these minima decreasing near edges. By contrast, the minimum height for white spruce in a plantation (full light) is about 3 m. Accounting for light receipt leads to an increase in the explained variance.Key words: balsam fir, cone production, light model, regressions, subcanopy stems, white spruce.


2018 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 37-43
Author(s):  
ZDZISŁAW KACZMARSKI ◽  
KATARZYNA MASTERNAK ◽  
MATEUSZ JARMUŁ

The paper presents results of an analysis of pedunculate oak slenderness. The dependence between slenderness of the oak tree and dimensions of the trunk and the crown dimensions of a single tree were examined. The biosocial position of each tree was determined based on the Kraft’s classification criteria. Following dimensions were measured for each tree: height, height of base of live crown, crown radius, diameter at breast height. The following crown parameters related to the growth space of a single tree were determined: crown length, crown width, crown projection area, space of a single tree, Seebach’s growth space number, crown projection area to basal area ratio, crown spread. Based on the obtained results, the following was found: biosocial position of the oak tree in vertical structure of the stand has significant impact on the size of the tree slenderness; the slenderness increases with deterioration of the biosocial position of the tree, but it decreases with the increase in the value of the tree’s measurement characteristics and the measures of its crown. 


2008 ◽  
Vol 54 (No. 3) ◽  
pp. 85-91
Author(s):  
M. Slodičák ◽  
J. Novák

The present paper is the first contribution from the biomass quantification series which is realized by Forestry and Game Management Research Institute in the Krušné hory Mts. (Northern Bohemia). This study is aimed at blue spruce substitute stands. Research was done within the blue spruce experiment Fláje II in the Krušné hory Mts. (800 m above sea level in the spruce forest vegetation zone, acidic category). Results showed that the aboveground biomass of the investigated substitute blue spruce stand without thinning amounted to approximately 56 thousand kg of dry matter per ha at the age of 22 years. Wood and bark of branches are the most important parts of the aboveground biomass (ca 40%). Needles and stem wood accounted for approximately 26 and 28% and stem bark only for 6%. At the age of 22 years, the investigated substitute blue spruce stand accumulated: N – 336 kg, P – 28 kg, K – 138 kg, Ca – 159 kg, Mg – 28 kg per hectare. Thinning with the consequent removal of aboveground biomass (54% of trees, 40% of basal area at the age of 16 years) represented a loss of ca 8.7 thousand kg/ha of total biomass, which contained 53 kg of N, 5 kg of P, 22 kg of K, 26 kg of Ca and 4 kg of Mg. The removal of biomass in areas previously degraded by acid deposition may result in the deficiency of Ca and Mg because of their low content in forest soil. On the other hand, thinning supported the faster growth of trees left after thinning and consequently faster biomass and nutrient accumulation.


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