Estimations of Total Ecosystem Biomass and Carbon Storage for Fir (Abies nordmanniana S. subsp. bornmülleriana (Mattf.)) Forests (Western Black Sea Region)

Abstract

With increasing CO2 in the atmosphere, there is an urgent need of reliable estimates of biomass and carbon pools, especially in Turkey where there is a serious lack of data. Information on amount of carbon biomass resulting from direct field measurements is crucial in this context, to know how forest ecosystems will affect the carbon cycle and also to validate the measurements. Biomass data were collected over the different vegetation types and land uses of pure fir forests in the Western Black Sea region in Turkey. Using site-specific allometric equation, we estimated biomass and carbon pools. We used GIS technology to develop a carbon biomass map of our study area. We estimated aboveground carbon, root carbon, and soil organic carbon down to 30 cm depth. This study will provide estimates of biomass and carbon pools from pure fir forests in the Western Black Sea region as well as an appropriate methodology to estimate based on ecosystem carbon storage components.