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Forests
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Forest Biomass and Carbon Estimation
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Forest Biomass and Carbon Estimation

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 August 2021) | Viewed by 17037

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Krishna P. Poudel

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Forestry, College of Forest Resources Forest and Wildlife Research Center, Mississippi State University, P.O. Box 9681, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA
Interests: forest sampling, measurement, and modeling; forest biomass and carbon estimation; climate change; applied statistics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forests play a critical role in the functioning of global ecosystems and climate, including serving as an important CO2 sink. Recently, we have seen intensified efforts by forest scientists around the world to identify the gaps in our understanding and to quantify the role of forests in carbon sequestration and the carbon cycle. The major focus has been on the development of allometric models to estimate aboveground biomass with limited work done in the estimation of belowground biomass. Furthermore, the estimation of forest carbon has been indirect through the assumed carbon content percent of dry biomass.

This Special Issue on Forest Biomass and Carbon Estimation aims to present the state-of-the-art developments and best practices in forest biomass and carbon estimation. The topics will include sampling and estimation methods for forest biomass and carbon; addressing forest biomass to forest carbon link; and approaches and challenges in integrating data from various sources to improve the accuracy at local, regional, national, and global scale.

Dr. Krishna P. Poudel
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Forest Biomass 
  • Allometric Equations 
  • Sampling and Estimation 
  • Climate Change 
  • Carbon Sequestration 
  • Bioenergy 
  • Forest Management 
  • Forest Inventory and Analysis 
  • Remote Sensing of Forestry

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2153 KiB  
Article
Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Forest Management Activities from 1990 to 2019 to Demonstrate Additionality for Climate Change Mitigation in the Forest Sector of South Korea
by Seunghyun Lee, Sunjeoung Lee, Hee Han, Joungwon You, Jongsu Yim and Jae Soo Bae
Forests 2021, 12(8), 1003; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12081003 - 29 Jul 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1705
Abstract
Forest management is key to maintaining and increasing carbon sinks in forests. In the context of climate change mitigation, the exact number of carbon sinks associated with forest management is estimated as the additionality of activities, which means net greenhouse gas (GHG) removals [...] Read more.
Forest management is key to maintaining and increasing carbon sinks in forests. In the context of climate change mitigation, the exact number of carbon sinks associated with forest management is estimated as the additionality of activities, which means net greenhouse gas (GHG) removals or carbon sequestration over and above those that would have arisen even in the absence of a given activity. This study analyzes the spatial and temporal patterns of forest management activities to present the forest management ratio, of managed area to the total forest area, as an indicator of additionality in forest management in South Korea. Forest management activities based on the IPCC guidelines were spatially constructed, and the characteristics of managed and protected forests from 1990 to 2019 were analyzed. The results indicate that between the managed forests and roads, 90% of the management activities in private forests occurred within 214 m of the road, and 70% of the activities in the national forest occurred within 234 m. Management took place in easy-to-access places with gentle slopes and low elevations. The proportion of protected forests above 40 years old is 87.2%, higher than the average of 72% in South Korea, and it is expected that most forests will age and their carbon absorption capacity will decrease by 2050. The area of tree planting and thinning is approximately 290 thousand ha per year, which could potentially increase the forest management ratio by up to 4.5% per year. However, the actual increase was at an average of 1.4%, owing to the omission of exact information on management activities, such as spatial coordinates and overlapping practices in the same management unit. The forest management ratio in South Korea as of 2019 was 53.4%; therefore, the amount of GHG removal in the forest sectors was 53.4% of total absorption per year. Thus, it is necessary to make efforts to increase the ratio to enhance the contribution of forest sectors to climate change mitigation for the country. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Biomass and Carbon Estimation)
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14 pages, 2390 KiB  
Article
Forest Management with Reduced-Impact Logging in Amazonia: Estimated Aboveground Volume and Carbon in Commercial Tree Species in Managed Forest in Brazil’s State of Acre
by Flora Magdaline Benitez Romero, Laércio Antônio Gonçalves Jacovine, Carlos Moreira Miquelino Eleto Torres, Sabina Cerruto Ribeiro, Vicente Toledo Machado de Morais Junior, Samuel José Silva Soares da Rocha, Richard Andres Benitez Romero, Ricardo de Oliveira Gaspar, Santiago Ivan Sagredo Velasquez, Christina Lynn Staudhammer, José Ambrosio Ferreira Neto, Edson Vidal and Philip Martin Fearnside
Forests 2021, 12(4), 481; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12040481 - 14 Apr 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3059
Abstract
Tropical forest management has both positive and negative effects on climate change, and quantifying these effects is important both to avoid or minimize negative impacts and to reward net positive effects. This study contributes to this effort by estimating the aboveground volume and [...] Read more.
Tropical forest management has both positive and negative effects on climate change, and quantifying these effects is important both to avoid or minimize negative impacts and to reward net positive effects. This study contributes to this effort by estimating the aboveground volume and carbon present in commercial tree species in a managed forest in the forest harvest stage in Brazil’s state of Acre. A total of 12,794 trees of commercial species were measured. Trees were categorized and quantified as: “harvested trees” (“harvest or cut”), which were felled in the harvest stage, and “remaining trees” (“future cutting,” “trees in permanent protection areas or APPs,” “seed trees,” “rare trees” and “trees protected by law”) that remained standing in the forest post-harvest. Aboveground volume and carbon stocks of the 81 commercial species (diameter at breast height [DBH] ≥ 10 cm) totaled 79.19 m³ ha−1 and 21.54 MgC ha−1, respectively. The category “harvested trees” represents 44.48% and “remaining trees” 55.49% of the aboveground volume stocks. In the managed area, the category “harvested trees” is felled; this is composed of the commercial bole that is removed (19.25 m³ ha−1 and 5.32 MgC ha−1) and the stump and crown that remain in the forest as decomposing organic material (15.97 m³ ha−1 and 4.41 MgC ha−1). We can infer that the 21.54 MgC ha−1 carbon stock of standing commercial trees (DBH ≥ 10 cm) represents 13.20% of the total aboveground carbon in the managed area. The commercial boles removed directly from the forest represent 3.26% of the total aboveground carbon, and the stumps and crowns of the harvested trees represent the loss of an additional 2.70%. For sustainability of the management system in terms of carbon balance, growth in the 35-year management cycle must be sufficient to replace not only these amounts (0.27 MgC ha−1 year−1) but also losses to collateral damage and to additional logging-related effects from increased vulnerability to forest fires. Financial viability of future management cycles will depend on replenishment of commercial trees of harvestable size (DBH ≥ 50 cm). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Biomass and Carbon Estimation)
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13 pages, 2647 KiB  
Article
Seemingly Unrelated Mixed-Effects Biomass Models for Black Locust in West Poland
by Karol Bronisz, Szymon Bijak, Rafał Wojtan, Robert Tomusiak, Agnieszka Bronisz, Paweł Baran and Michał Zasada
Forests 2021, 12(3), 380; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12030380 - 23 Mar 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1927
Abstract
Information about tree biomass is important not only in the assessment of wood resources but also in the process of preparing forest management plans, as well as for estimating carbon stocks and their flow in forest ecosystems. The study aimed to develop empirical [...] Read more.
Information about tree biomass is important not only in the assessment of wood resources but also in the process of preparing forest management plans, as well as for estimating carbon stocks and their flow in forest ecosystems. The study aimed to develop empirical models for determining the dry mass of the aboveground parts of black locust trees and their components (stem, branches, and leaves). The research was carried out based on data collected in 13 stands (a total of 38 sample trees) of black locust located in western Poland. The model system was developed based on multivariate mixed-effect models using two approaches. In the first approach, biomass components and tree height were defined as dependent variables, while diameter at breast height was used as an independent variable. In the second approach, biomass components and diameter at breast height were dependent variables and tree height was defined as the independent variable. Both approaches enable the fixed-effect and cross-model random-effect prediction of aboveground dry biomass components of black locust. Cross-model random-effect prediction was obtained using additional measurements of two extreme trees, defined as trees characterized by the smallest and largest diameter at breast height in sample plot. This type of prediction is more precise (root mean square error for stem dry biomass for both approaches equals 77.603 and 188.139, respectively) than that of fixed-effects prediction (root mean square error for stem dry biomass for both approaches equals 238.716 and 206.933, respectively). The use of height as an independent variable increases the possibility of the practical application of the proposed solutions using remote data sources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Biomass and Carbon Estimation)
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12 pages, 3025 KiB  
Article
Aboveground Biomass Allocation of Boreal Shrubs and Short-Stature Trees in Northwestern Canada
by Linda Flade, Christopher Hopkinson and Laura Chasmer
Forests 2021, 12(2), 234; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12020234 - 18 Feb 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2401
Abstract
In this follow-on study on aboveground biomass of shrubs and short-stature trees, we provide plant component aboveground biomass (herein ‘AGB’) as well as plant component AGB allometric models for five common boreal shrub and four common boreal short-stature tree genera/species. The analyzed plant [...] Read more.
In this follow-on study on aboveground biomass of shrubs and short-stature trees, we provide plant component aboveground biomass (herein ‘AGB’) as well as plant component AGB allometric models for five common boreal shrub and four common boreal short-stature tree genera/species. The analyzed plant components consist of stem, branch, and leaf organs. We found similar ratios of component biomass to total AGB for stems, branches, and leaves amongst shrubs and deciduous tree genera/species across the southern Northwest Territories, while the evergreen Picea genus differed in the biomass allocation to aboveground plant organs compared to the deciduous genera/species. Shrub component AGB allometric models were derived using the three-dimensional variable volume as predictor, determined as the sum of line-intercept cover, upper foliage width, and maximum height above ground. Tree component AGB was modeled using the cross-sectional area of the stem diameter as predictor variable, measured at 0.30 m along the stem length. For shrub component AGB, we achieved better model fits for stem biomass (60.33 g ≤ RMSE ≤ 163.59 g; 0.651 ≤ R2 ≤ 0.885) compared to leaf biomass (12.62 g ≤ RMSE ≤ 35.04 g; 0.380 ≤ R2 ≤ 0.735), as has been reported by others. For short-stature trees, leaf biomass predictions resulted in similar model fits (18.21 g ≤ RMSE ≤ 70.0 g; 0.702 ≤ R2 ≤ 0.882) compared to branch biomass (6.88 g ≤ RMSE ≤ 45.08 g; 0.736 ≤ R2 ≤ 0.923) and only slightly better model fits for stem biomass (30.87 g ≤ RMSE ≤ 11.72 g; 0.887 ≤ R2 ≤ 0.960), which suggests that leaf AGB of short-stature trees (<4.5 m) can be more accurately predicted using cross-sectional area as opposed to diameter at breast height for tall-stature trees. Our multi-species shrub and short-stature tree allometric models showed promising results for predicting plant component AGB, which can be utilized for remote sensing applications where plant functional types cannot always be distinguished. This study provides critical information on plant AGB allocation as well as component AGB modeling, required for understanding boreal AGB and aboveground carbon pools within the dynamic and rapidly changing Taiga Plains and Taiga Shield ecozones. In addition, the structural information and component AGB equations are important for integrating shrubs and short-stature tree AGB into carbon accounting strategies in order to improve our understanding of the rapidly changing boreal ecosystem function. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Biomass and Carbon Estimation)
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16 pages, 2911 KiB  
Article
Allometric Equations for Shrub and Short-Stature Tree Aboveground Biomass within Boreal Ecosystems of Northwestern Canada
by Linda Flade, Christopher Hopkinson and Laura Chasmer
Forests 2020, 11(11), 1207; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11111207 - 16 Nov 2020
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4203
Abstract
Aboveground biomass (AGB) of short-stature shrubs and trees contain a substantial part of the total carbon pool within boreal ecosystems. These ecosystems, however, are changing rapidly due to climate-mediated atmospheric changes, with overall observed decline in woody plant AGB in boreal northwestern Canada. [...] Read more.
Aboveground biomass (AGB) of short-stature shrubs and trees contain a substantial part of the total carbon pool within boreal ecosystems. These ecosystems, however, are changing rapidly due to climate-mediated atmospheric changes, with overall observed decline in woody plant AGB in boreal northwestern Canada. Allometric equations provide a means to quantify woody plant AGB and are useful to understand aboveground carbon stocks as well as changes through time in unmanaged boreal ecosystems. In this paper, we provide allometric equations, regression coefficients, and error statistics to quantify total AGB of shrubs and short-stature trees. We provide species- and genus-specific as well as multispecies allometric models for shrub and tree species commonly found in northwestern boreal forest and peatland ecosystems. We found that the three-dimensional field variable (volume) provided the most accurate prediction of shrub multispecies AGB (R2 = 0.79, p < 0.001), as opposed to the commonly used one-dimensional variable (basal diameter) measured on the longest and thickest stem (R2 = 0.23, p < 0.001). Short-stature tree AGB was most accurately predicted by stem diameter measured at 0.3 m along the stem length (R2 = 0.99, p < 0.001) rather than stem length (R2 = 0.29, p < 0.001). Via the two-dimensional variable cross-sectional area, small-stature shrub AGB was combined with small-stature tree AGB within one single allometric model (R2 = 0.78, p < 0.001). The AGB models provided in this paper will improve our understanding of shrub and tree AGB within rapidly changing boreal environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Biomass and Carbon Estimation)
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18 pages, 13719 KiB  
Article
Allometric Biomass Models for European Beech and Silver Fir: Testing Approaches to Minimize the Demand for Site-Specific Biomass Observations
by Ioan Dutcă, Dimitris Zianis, Ion Cătălin Petrițan, Cosmin Ion Bragă, Gheorghe Ștefan, Jorge Curiel Yuste and Any Mary Petrițan
Forests 2020, 11(11), 1136; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11111136 - 26 Oct 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2564
Abstract
In this paper, site-specific allometric biomass models were developed for European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) to estimate the aboveground biomass in Șinca virgin forest, Romania. Several approaches to minimize the demand for site-specific observations in [...] Read more.
In this paper, site-specific allometric biomass models were developed for European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) to estimate the aboveground biomass in Șinca virgin forest, Romania. Several approaches to minimize the demand for site-specific observations in allometric biomass model development were also investigated. Developing site-specific allometric biomass models requires new measurements of biomass for a sample of trees from that specific site. Yet, measuring biomass is laborious, time consuming, and requires extensive logistics, especially for very large trees. The allometric biomass models were developed for a wide range of diameters at breast height, D (6–86 cm for European beech and 6–93 cm for silver fir) using a logarithmic transformation approach. Two alternative approaches were applied, i.e., random intercept model (RIM) and a Bayesian model with strong informative priors, to enhance the information of the site-specific sample (of biomass observations) by supplementing with a generic biomass sample. The appropriateness of each model was evaluated based on the aboveground biomass prediction of a 1 ha sample plot in Șinca forest. The results showed that models based on both D and tree height (H) to predict tree aboveground biomass (AGB) were more accurate predictors of AGB and produced plot-level estimates with better precision, than models based on D only. Furthermore, both RIM and Bayesian approach performed similarly well when a small local sample (of seven smallest trees) was used to calibrate the allometric model. Therefore, the generic biomass observations may effectively be combined with a small local sample (of just a few small trees) to calibrate an allometric model to a certain site and to minimize the demand for site-specific biomass measurements. However, special attention should be given to the H-D ratio, since it can affect the allometry and the performance of the reduced local sample approach. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Biomass and Carbon Estimation)
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