ALLOMETRIC EQUATION FOR PREDICTING ABOVEGROUND BIOMASS OF THREE TREE SPECIES

Abstract

Ebuy J, Lokombe jp, Ponette Q, Sonwa D & Picard N. 2011. Allometric equation for predicting aboveground biomass of three tree species. Allometric equations, which predict the aboveground dry biomass of a tree from its diameter and/or height, are needed to estimate carbon stocks in forests. Although
pantropical multispecies biomass equations have been developed for tropical rain forests, very few tree
biomass measurements are available for central Africa, and none of these measurements were used to fit the
pantropical equations. We measured the biomass of 12 trees belonging to three species at Yangambi in the
Democratic Republic of Congo. Using these data, we developed a site-specific biomass equation and checked
whether the pantropical equations were consistent with it. The pantropical equations were within the 95%
confidence interval of the fitted site-specific equation, but with a bias for measurements that ranged from
26 to 32%. Although the pantropical biomass equations were consistent with the biomass measurements at
Yangambi, larger data sets (including larger trees and more species) and more precise estimate of the wood
specific gravity would be required to confirm the result.