Aboveground biomass and nitrogen allocation of ten deciduous southern Appalachian tree species

Abstract

Allometric equations were developed for mature trees of 10 deciduous species (Acer rubrum L., Betula lenta L., Carya spp., Cornus florida L., Liriodendron tulipifera L., Oxydendrum arboreum (L.) DC., Quercus alba L., Quercus coccinea Muenchh., Quercus prinus L., and Quercus rubra L.) at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory in western North Carolina, U.S.A. These equations included the following dependent variables: stem wood mass, stem bark mass, branch mass, total wood mass, foliage mass, total biomass, foliage area, stem surface area, sapwood volume, and total tree volume. High correlation coefficients (R2) were observed for all variables versus stem diameter, with the highest being for total tree biomass, which ranged from 0.981 for Oxydendrum arboreum to 0.999 for Quercus coccinea. Foliage area had the lowest R2 values, ranging from 0.555 for Quercus alba to 0.962 for Betula lenta. When all species were combined, correlation coefficients ranged from 0.822 for foliage area to 0.986 for total wood mass, total tree biomass, and total tree volume. Species with ring versus diffuse/semiring porous wood anatomy exhibited higher leaf area with a given cross-sectional sapwood area as well as lower total sapwood volume. Liriodendron tulipifera contained one of the highest foliar nitrogen concentrations and had consistently low branch, bark, sapwood, and heartwood nitrogen contents. For a tree diameter of 50 cm, Carya spp. exhibited the highest total nitrogen content whereas Liriodendron tulipifera exhibited the lowest.