Using TLS-Measured Tree Attributes to Estimate Aboveground Biomass in Small Black Spruce Trees

Research Highlights: This study advances the effort to accurately estimate biomass of trees in peatlands, which cover 13% Canada’s land surface. Background and Objectives: Trees remove carbon from atmosphere store it as biomass. Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) has become a useful tool for modelling forest structure estimating above ground (AGB) trees. Allometric equations are often used individual tree AGB function height diameter at breast (DBH), but these variables can be laborious measure using traditional methods. The main objective this was develop allometric TLS-measured compare their accuracy with that other widely rely on DBH. Materials Methods: focusses small black spruce (<5 m) located peatland ecosystems Taiga Plains Ecozone Northwest Territories, Canada. Black growing peatlands stunted when compared upland having models specific them would allow more precise estimates. One hundred were destructively sampled 10 plots dry weight each measured lab. With reference data, we fitted DBH, crown diameter, area, height, volume, bounding box volume predictors. Results: Our best had size predictors outperformed established Conclusions: based above, therefore they may enable plotless creation accurate data prominent species common ecosystem (treed peatlands) North America’s boreal.