Effects of stand age on tree biomass partitioning and allometric equations in Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) plantations

Abstract

Although stand age affects biomass partitioning and allometric equations, the size of these effects and whether it is worth incorporating stand age into allometric equations, requires further attention. We sampled a total of 90 trees for 10 Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) plantations at seven stand age classes to obtain the data of tree component biomass using destructive harvesting. A multilevel modeling approach was applied to examine how stand age effects differ among tree components and predictor variables (diameter at breast height, DBH and tree height, H). Age class-specific allometric equations and the best fitting generalized equation that included stand age as a complementary variable were developed for each tree component. Large differences in both the intercept and slope for different stand age classes indicated that stand age affected allometric models. Branch and leaves were more sensitive to the environment and were the tree components most affected by stand age. Age class-specific allometric equations fitted well (R2 > 0.65, p < 0.001) using DBH and the combined form DBH2H as predictor variables. Including stand age as a complementary variable improved the fit of generalized allometric equations. Stem, aboveground and total tree biomass predicted by the multilevel model and generalized equation were comparable to the observed data. However, the multilevel model and generalized equations had a relatively low predictive capacity for branch, leaf and root biomass. These results could improve our capacity to evaluate carbon sequestration and other ecosystem functions in plantations.