Using TLS-Measured Tree Attributes to Estimate Aboveground Biomass in Small Black Spruce Trees

<i>Research Highlights</i>: This study advances the effort to accurately estimate the biomass of trees in peatlands, which cover 13% of Canada’s land surface. <i>Background and Objectives:</i> Trees remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it as biomass. Terrestrial laser...

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Autores principales:	Steven Wagers, Guillermo Castilla, Michelle Filiatrault, G. Arturo Sanchez-Azofeifa
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	terrestrial laser scanning biomass black spruce allometric equations Plant ecology QK900-989
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/baeeb9bcd0a04490bc0cc81b67e4dc60
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:baeeb9bcd0a04490bc0cc81b67e4dc602021-11-25T17:38:14ZUsing TLS-Measured Tree Attributes to Estimate Aboveground Biomass in Small Black Spruce Trees10.3390/f121115211999-4907https://doaj.org/article/baeeb9bcd0a04490bc0cc81b67e4dc602021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/11/1521https://doaj.org/toc/1999-4907<i>Research Highlights</i>: This study advances the effort to accurately estimate the biomass of trees in peatlands, which cover 13% of Canada’s land surface. <i>Background and Objectives:</i> Trees remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it as biomass. Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) has become a useful tool for modelling forest structure and estimating the above ground biomass (AGB) of trees. Allometric equations are often used to estimate individual tree AGB as a function of height and diameter at breast height (DBH), but these variables can often be laborious to measure using traditional methods. The main objective of this study was to develop allometric equations using TLS-measured variables and compare their accuracy with that of other widely used equations that rely on DBH. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: The study focusses on small black spruce trees (<5 m) located in peatland ecosystems of the Taiga Plains Ecozone in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Black spruce growing in peatlands are often stunted when compared to upland black spruce and having models specific to them would allow for more precise biomass estimates. One hundred small trees were destructively sampled from 10 plots and the dry weight of each tree was measured in the lab. With this reference data, we fitted biomass models specific to peatland black spruce using DBH, crown diameter, crown area, height, tree volume, and bounding box volume as predictors. <i>Results:</i> Our best models had crown size and height as predictors and outperformed established AGB equations that rely on DBH. <i>Conclusions:</i> Our equations are based on predictors that can be measured from above, and therefore they may enable the plotless creation of accurate biomass reference data for a prominent tree species in a common ecosystem (treed peatlands) in North America’s boreal.Steven WagersGuillermo CastillaMichelle FiliatraultG. Arturo Sanchez-AzofeifaMDPI AGarticleterrestrial laser scanningbiomassblack spruceallometric equationsPlant ecologyQK900-989ENForests, Vol 12, Iss 1521, p 1521 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	terrestrial laser scanning biomass black spruce allometric equations Plant ecology QK900-989
spellingShingle	terrestrial laser scanning biomass black spruce allometric equations Plant ecology QK900-989 Steven Wagers Guillermo Castilla Michelle Filiatrault G. Arturo Sanchez-Azofeifa Using TLS-Measured Tree Attributes to Estimate Aboveground Biomass in Small Black Spruce Trees
description	<i>Research Highlights</i>: This study advances the effort to accurately estimate the biomass of trees in peatlands, which cover 13% of Canada’s land surface. <i>Background and Objectives:</i> Trees remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it as biomass. Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) has become a useful tool for modelling forest structure and estimating the above ground biomass (AGB) of trees. Allometric equations are often used to estimate individual tree AGB as a function of height and diameter at breast height (DBH), but these variables can often be laborious to measure using traditional methods. The main objective of this study was to develop allometric equations using TLS-measured variables and compare their accuracy with that of other widely used equations that rely on DBH. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: The study focusses on small black spruce trees (<5 m) located in peatland ecosystems of the Taiga Plains Ecozone in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Black spruce growing in peatlands are often stunted when compared to upland black spruce and having models specific to them would allow for more precise biomass estimates. One hundred small trees were destructively sampled from 10 plots and the dry weight of each tree was measured in the lab. With this reference data, we fitted biomass models specific to peatland black spruce using DBH, crown diameter, crown area, height, tree volume, and bounding box volume as predictors. <i>Results:</i> Our best models had crown size and height as predictors and outperformed established AGB equations that rely on DBH. <i>Conclusions:</i> Our equations are based on predictors that can be measured from above, and therefore they may enable the plotless creation of accurate biomass reference data for a prominent tree species in a common ecosystem (treed peatlands) in North America’s boreal.
format	article
author	Steven Wagers Guillermo Castilla Michelle Filiatrault G. Arturo Sanchez-Azofeifa
author_facet	Steven Wagers Guillermo Castilla Michelle Filiatrault G. Arturo Sanchez-Azofeifa
author_sort	Steven Wagers
title	Using TLS-Measured Tree Attributes to Estimate Aboveground Biomass in Small Black Spruce Trees
title_short	Using TLS-Measured Tree Attributes to Estimate Aboveground Biomass in Small Black Spruce Trees
title_full	Using TLS-Measured Tree Attributes to Estimate Aboveground Biomass in Small Black Spruce Trees
title_fullStr	Using TLS-Measured Tree Attributes to Estimate Aboveground Biomass in Small Black Spruce Trees
title_full_unstemmed	Using TLS-Measured Tree Attributes to Estimate Aboveground Biomass in Small Black Spruce Trees
title_sort	using tls-measured tree attributes to estimate aboveground biomass in small black spruce trees
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/baeeb9bcd0a04490bc0cc81b67e4dc60
work_keys_str_mv	AT stevenwagers usingtlsmeasuredtreeattributestoestimateabovegroundbiomassinsmallblacksprucetrees AT guillermocastilla usingtlsmeasuredtreeattributestoestimateabovegroundbiomassinsmallblacksprucetrees AT michellefiliatrault usingtlsmeasuredtreeattributestoestimateabovegroundbiomassinsmallblacksprucetrees AT garturosanchezazofeifa usingtlsmeasuredtreeattributestoestimateabovegroundbiomassinsmallblacksprucetrees
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Using TLS-Measured Tree Attributes to Estimate Aboveground Biomass in Small Black Spruce Trees

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