Improvement in accuracy of aboveground biomass estimation in Eucalyptus nitens plantations: Effect of bole sampling intensity and explanatory variables

Two sets of aboveground biomass equations were fitted for stem only and stem plus crown predictive variables in Eucalyptus nitens plantations in Northern Spain. A sample of 40 trees was chosen after a complete study of variation in tree height and diameter in the region. The trees were felled and the biomass was divided into the following components: wood, bark, thick branches, thin branches, twigs, leaves and dead branches along the stem. Bole biomass was estimated by systematic subsampling of one 5 cm-thick disk every 0.5 m. Such intensive subsampling enabled determination of the effect of subsampling intensity on accuracy and bias of wood estimation, considering two ratio-type estimators: stem weight to dry matter, determined by the complete weighing (CW) method (i.e. of the fresh weight of the entire stem) and volume to dry matter, determined by the partial weighing (PW) method. The changes in moisture content and basic density along the stem explained the serious risk of dry mass or weight overestimation when a systematic subsample is considered. The average basic density was usually found at a relative height of 30–35% along the stem. The default choice of the bottom disk or log as the first section resulted in overestimations for the CW method and underestimations for the PW one. The biomass equations were fitted by seemingly unrelated regression, with corrections for heteroscedasticity carried out by weighted fitting. Diameter at breast height was the best explanatory variable, and the inclusion of height did not improve the accuracy, except for wood. The inclusion of crown variables improved the predictive ability for crown fractions, increasing the accuracy for estimating thick branches (by 10.8%), twigs (by 19.1%) and leaves (by 17.3%). The biomass of each fraction decreased in the following order: wood > bark > thick branches > dead branches along the stem > leaves > thin branches > twigs. The changes in these percentages with diameter class and the predictive ability of the fitted equations were also studied.

► Crown variables are useful explanatory variables of some tree biomass components.
► Subsampling intensity of the bole component could produce low severe bias on dry weight estimation.
► The default consideration of bottom section produces bias on dry weight estimation.
► Average basic density of the stem is located at 30–40% of stem height.
► Single tree biomass equations are only useful estimating percentage of components over total for a threshold diameter of 13 cm dbh.