Allometric Equations for Tropical Seasonal Deciduous Forests in Cambodia: A Method of Estimating Belowground Tree Biomass with Reduced Sampling Loss of Roots

Yukako MONDA; Eriko ITO; Yoshiyuki KIYONO; Tamotsu SATO; Jumpei TORIYAMA; Heng SOKH; Sophal CHANN; Bora TITH; Samkol KETH; Op PHALLAPHEARAOTH; Soukanh BOUNTHABANDID

doi:10.6090/jarq.50.369

Forestry and Forest Products

Allometric Equations for Tropical Seasonal Deciduous Forests in Cambodia: A Method of Estimating Belowground Tree Biomass with Reduced Sampling Loss of Roots

Yukako MONDA, Eriko ITO, Yoshiyuki KIYONO, Tamotsu SATO, Jumpei TORIYAMA, Heng SOKH, Sophal CHANN, Bora TITH, Samkol KETH, Op PHALLAPHEARAOTH, Soukanh BOUNTHABANDID

Author information

Yukako MONDA
Bureau of Climate Change, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI)
Eriko ITO
Hokkaido Regional Research Center, FFPRI
Yoshiyuki KIYONO
Principal Research Coordinator, FFPRI
Tamotsu SATO
Department of Forest Vegetation, FFPRI
Jumpei TORIYAMA
Bureau of Climate Change, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI)
Heng SOKH
Forestry Administration, Cambodia
Sophal CHANN
Forestry Administration, Cambodia
Bora TITH
Forestry Administration, Cambodia
Samkol KETH
Forestry Administration, Cambodia
Op PHALLAPHEARAOTH
Forestry Administration, Cambodia
Soukanh BOUNTHABANDID
Department of Forestry, Lao PDR

Keywords: deciduous dipterocarp forest, destructive sampling, forest biomass estimation, REDD+, root system

JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2016 Volume 50 Issue 4 Pages 369-377

DOI https://doi.org/10.6090/jarq.50.369

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Abstract

There is an urgent need to estimate the biomass of tropical seasonal forests in central Indochina, which have suffered from deforestation and degradation. However, allometric equations specific to such forests are limited. In this study, we destructively sampled 28 trees in a deciduous forest in Kratie Province, Cambodia, and developed new allometric equations for estimating the tree-level biomass of aboveground woody parts (trunk + branches), leaves, total aboveground parts (trunk + branches + leaves), and that of belowground parts (BGB). The sampling of belowground parts is usually very laborious and time-consuming, and entails inevitable root loss during excavation. Thus, it is difficult to accurately quantify tree-level BGB, especially for large trees. We used a new sampling method (called the mound method) to reduce the sampling loss of BGB. The percentage of BGB sampling loss (ratio of sampling loss estimated by the mound method to total BGB) averaged 28.9%. Our models estimated the stand-level biomass of a deciduous dipterocarp forest in Kratie to be 81.9 ± 45.1 Mg ha^-1. The allometric equations and tree-level biomass data presented here will support activities related to REDD+.

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