A New General Allometric Biomass Model

Wei Sheng ZENG Shou Zheng TANG Zeng, Wei Sheng. Academy of Forest Inventory and Planning , State Forestry Administration, #18 Hepingli East Street, East District, Beijing 100714, China. E-mail address: [email protected]. Tang, Shou Zheng. Institute of Forest Resources Information, Chinese Academy of Forestry, #1 Dongxiaofu, Xiangshan Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100091, China. E-mail address: [email protected]. Corresponding author (E-mail: [email protected], Tel:086-10-8423-8409; Fax:086-10-8423-8170) Abstract: To implement monitoring and assessment of national forest biomass, it is becoming the trend to develop generalized single-tree biomass models suitable for large scale forest biomass estimation. Considering that the theoretical biomass allometric model developed by West et al. [1,2] was statistically different from the empirical one, the two parameters in the most commonly used biomass equation M=aD were analyzed in this paper. Firstly, based on the knowledge of geometry, the theoretical value of parameter b was deduced, i.e., b=7/3(≈2.33), and the comparison with many empirical studies conducted throughout the globe indicated that the theoretical parameter could describe soundly the average allometric relationship between aboveground biomass M and D (diameter on breast height). Secondly, using five datasets of aboveground biomass which consisted of 1441 M , D pairs of sample trees, the new general biomass allometric model was validated. Finally, the relationship between parameter a and wood density p was analyzed, and the linear regression was developed. The new model, which is not only simple but also species-specific, offers a feasible approach on establishment of generalized biomass models for regional and national forest biomass estimation.