Effective determination of biomass in oak coppices

Abstract

The diameter at breast height of the largest sprout per coppiced stool proved to be accurate for the total sprout biomass estimates at stand level. Traditional coppicing is one of the oldest silvicultural systems for biomass production. However, a quick and simple biomass estimate methodology across the entire growth period is lacking. The objective of this study was to find the sprout parameters that need to be measured for accurate sprout estimates as well as to find a necessary minimum number of sprouts for these estimates. Using data from 20 sample Turkey oak multi-stem trees, we modelled sprout biomass as a function of an increasing number of sprouts in interaction with different sprout parameters in a later post-resprouting period. Results showed that the DBH of only two of the largest sprouts per stump proved to be accurate estimators of the total sprout biomass of the individual stool. For sprout biomass estimates at stand level, we recommend measuring the DBH of the largest sprout within each stool in a plot and then calculating and summing the estimated sprout biomasses of the individual stools. This study illustrates that the biomass can simply be estimated by easily measured parameters of sprouts; therefore, the multi-stemmed trees can be easily included into the yield or ecosystem studies of woody vegetation with less time-consuming measurements.