Abstract
Biomass is the component of living organism and mostly obtained from plants, animals, insects and the residue of all the mentioned organisms. Biomass is the key source of energy present in the form of organic matter. The study aimed to find out biomass and its variation in each component of Betula utilis D. Don (Birch Tree) with varying diameter at Kalam forest division Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, Pakistan. The biomass of different components was determined by non-destructive methods. Overall, 30 trees were selected from different diameter classes viz a viz up to 10, 11 - 20 and greater than 20 cm. Ten trees were selected from each class. The diameter of stem and large branches and their length were measured in the field. Later, the volumes of stem and branches were calculated and converted into biomass. The study revealed that stem contributes 42.65% biomass followed by large and sub branches as 39.22% and 13.54% respectively. Leaves contribute 4.59% only. The above tree biomass contribution by different components was arranged as stem was greater than large branches; these were greater than sub branches and the lowest was in leaves. The total above ground biomass of single tree was 20.59, 58.041 and 197.214 kg·tree-1 respectively for diameter up to 10, 11 - 20 and greater than 20 cm. The averaged biomass in all diameter classes was 91.95 ± 93.064 kg·tree-1. The total biomass of single tree of diameter class up to 10, 11 - 20 and greater than 20 cm was 24.71, 69.649 and 236 kg respectively. The below ground biomass of single tree of diameter class up to 10, 11 - 20 and greater than 20 cm was 4.11 ± 1.24 kg, 11.61 ± 3.56 kg and 39.44 ± 8.9 kg respectively. The biomass expansion factor was 1.34, 1.47, and 1.5 t·m-3 respectively for diameter classes up to 10 cm, 11 - 20 cm and greater than 20 cm respectively. The mean biomass expansion factor for all diameter classes was 1.44 t·m-3.
Highlights
Biomass is defined as the components of living organism or the constituents of living organism present in the form of organic matter
Biomass expansion factor is defined as the ratio between the dry biomass to the stem volume of a tree denoted by BEF, as W = BEF × V, where W is the dry biomass in t∙ha−1, V is the stem volume in m3∙ha−1 and BEF, is measured t∙m−3 (Marklund, 1988)
The study was carried out in Kalam forest division located in District Swat., Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province of Pakistan, having an area of 5037 square kilometers located at the north of the country (GoP, 1999)
Summary
Biomass is defined as the components of living organism or the constituents of living organism present in the form of organic matter. The biomass is renewable energy source and obtained from biomes such as plants waste or plant residue, as different wastes like straws, corns including roots (Bonnie, 2009). Biomass is defined as non-processed organic matter obtaining from living things like plants, insects animals and products of microorganisms, by-products of domestic waste like waste of fruit and vegetable, residues/wastes from agriculture, forest, industries and municipal wastes. Forest biomass includes the woody stem, branches, bark, twigs, leaves, fruit, seeds, debris, litter, roots, grasses, lichen and herbs (UNFCCC, 2000). Due to the unavailability of allometric data for roots, root biomass is generally estimated from standard root to shoot ratios for broad leaved and coniferous species (Cairns et al, 1997). Change in the allometry of tree and allometric equations may lead to variation in root biomass and root to shoot biomass ratios (Cairns et al, 1997; Kurz et al, 1996)
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