Allometric equations allow aboveground tree biomass and carbon stock to be estimated from tree size. The allometric scaling theory suggests the existence of a universal power-law relationship between tree biomass and tree diameter with a fixed scaling exponent close to 8/3. In addition, generic empirical models, like Chave's or Brown's models, have been proposed for tropical forests in America ...

Nurse crops of widely spaced pioneer trees are a silvicultural approach to protect the regeneration of frost sensitive target tree species. If overstorey nurse crops are harvested, they can provide additional short-term benefits through increased biomass production, e.g., for bioenergy. However, the intensification of biomass exports from forests might impact negatively on ecosystem nutrient po...

We show how fractal time series can naturally emerge from an input signal, which might be also random noise, when processed by some allometric mechanisms. In particular, we introduce and study the properties of allometric low and high-pass filters. We also argue that in nature pure monofractal signals could be unphysical, while bi-scaling signals might be extremely common, a fact that might be ...

The allometric 3/4 power relation, initially used for describing the relation between mammalian basal metabolic rate and body size, is often used as a general model for organismal design. The use of allometric regression as a model has important limitations: it is not mechanistic, it combines all physiological variables into one correlate of body size, and it combines data from several physiolo...

PURPOSE Results of a study comparing the performance of allometric versus consensus guideline-recommended vancomycin dosing in achieving initial trough concentrations within the desired range are reported. METHODS A retrospective study was conducted to compare selected outcomes with 2 vancomycin dosing methods: (1) dosing by total body weight, as recommended in current consensus guidelines, a...

Allometric models are useful for assessment of aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and aboveground biomass (AGB) of forests and shrubs, and are widely implemented in forest inventory and management. Multiple forms of allometric models have been used to estimate vegetation carbon storage for desert shrubland, but their validity for biomass estimation has not been tested at a region scale...

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of allometric scaling on the relationship between mechanical work and long-distance running performance in recreational runners. Fourteen recreational long-distance runners (male, mean ± SD - age: 29 ± 7 years; body mass: 70.0 ± 10.2 kg; body height: 1.71 ± 0.07 m; maximal oxygen uptake: VO2max 52.0 ± 4.9 ml·kg(-1)·min(-1)) performed two tests...

The relationship between tree height and diameter is fundamental in determining community and ecosystem structure as well as estimates of biomass and carbon storage. Yet our understanding of how tree allometry relates to climate and whole organismal function is limited. We used the Forest Inventory and Analysis National Program database to determine height-diameter allometries of 2,976,937 indi...

Although the evolution and function of "exaggerated" bony projections in ornithischian dinosaurs has been subject to significant debate recently, our understanding of the structure and morphology of their epidermal keratinized coverings is greatly limited. The holotype of Borealopelta, a new nodosaurid ankylosaur, preserves osteoderms and extensive epidermal structures (dark organic residues), ...

The design of living beings is not only a matter of molecular biology but also of geometry and physics. This was once more demonstrated with a biophysical model by G. B. West et al. (1) that had been fine-tuned to predict the famous scaling law of metabolism (2), namely a 3/4 power relation between body mass and energy consumption. While properties and predictions of the model are remarkable, a...