Estimating above-ground fuel biomass in young calabrian pine (Pinus brutia Ten.)

Abstract

Crown fuel biomass is of great importance in the field of forest-fire science. In this study, regression equations were developed for predicting needle, branch, and total biomass of young calabrian pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) trees and saplings. Equations were based on the data from 71 destructively sampled trees and saplings. The relationships between needle and branch biomass and tree properties were determined by linear regression, considering tree properties as the independent variable and needle, branch, and total biomass as the dependent variables. Tree and sapling properties included tree height (H), crown length (CL), crown width (CW), diameter at breast height (DBH), and root collar diameter (RCD). Results indicated that needle, branch, and total biomass could be accurately predicted using the regression equations obtained. The resulting equations were able to account for 60-94% of the observed variation in the total biomass. © 2009 American Chemical Society.