Differential Above- and Below-ground Biomass Accumulation of European Pinus sylvestris Populations in a 12-year-old Provenance Experiment

Abstract

Growth and the distribution of biomass among above- and below-ground components were measured in 12-year-old Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) from 19 populations grown in a provenance experiment in central Poland (52° N). The populations originated from the northern (>55°N in Russia, Sweden and Latvia), central (54–47° N in Poland, Germany, Belgium, France, Slovakia, Hungary), and southern (<45° N in Bosnia, Montenegro and Turkey) European range of Scots pine. Height, diameter and biomass were all significantly related to latitude of origin. For populations of northern, central and southern origin, above-ground biomass averaged 3.1, 4.7 and 3.3 kg tree−1 and 25, 43 and 12 Mg ha−1. Total root biomass accounted for 22, 19 and 28% of total stand biomass for northern, central and southern populations, respectively. These differences were primarily the result of proportionally higher fine root biomass in the slower-growing northern and southern than central populations. Since the allometric regression equations based on diameter for total aboveground and coarse root biomass did not differ among populations or regions, biomass of Scots pine, excluding fine roots, may be accurately estimated from forest inventory data.