Allometric equations for shrubs and short-stature tree aboveground biomass within boreal ecosystems of northwestern Canada

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dc.contributor.authorFlade, Linda
dc.contributor.authorHopkinson, Christopher
dc.contributor.authorChasmer, Laura
dc.date.accessioned2021-09-28T23:51:58Z
dc.date.available2021-09-28T23:51:58Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.descriptionOpen access article. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International LIcense (CC BY 4.0) appliesen_US
dc.description.abstractAboveground 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.en_US
dc.description.peer-reviewYesen_US
dc.identifier.citationFlade, L., Hopkinson, C., & Chasmer, L. (2020). Allometric equations for shrub and short-stature tree aboveground biomass within boreal ecosystems of northwestern Canada. Forests, 11(11),Article 1207. https://doi.org/10.3390/f11111207en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10133/6051
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherMDPIen_US
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Geograpy and Environmenten_US
dc.publisher.facultyArts and Scienceen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Lethbridgeen_US
dc.publisher.urlhttps://doi.org/10.3390/f11111207en_US
dc.subjectShrub biomassen_US
dc.subjectTree biomassen_US
dc.subjectClimate changeen_US
dc.subjectNorthern ecosystemsen_US
dc.subjectEcosystem changeen_US
dc.subjectDiscontinuous permafrosten_US
dc.subjectSporadic permafrosten_US
dc.subjectForesten_US
dc.subjectPeatlanden_US
dc.subjectBoreal ecosystems
dc.subjectShort-stature trees
dc.subject.lcshForest biomass--Canada
dc.subject.lcshClimatic changes
dc.subject.lcshShrubs--Canada
dc.titleAllometric equations for shrubs and short-stature tree aboveground biomass within boreal ecosystems of northwestern Canadaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
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