Extending a Model System to Predict Biomass in Mixed-Species Southern Appalachian Hardwood Forests

Abstract

Functions for estimating foliage, branches and nonmerchantable stem tops, merchantable stem, and total aboveground biomass for Appalachian hardwood trees were assembled and incorporated into an existing growth-and-yield simulator for mixed-species Appalachian hardwood forests. With these functions and user-defined stand table and stand characteristics, current estimates of biomass in the different aboveground tree components can be obtained by species and diameter class for a thinned or unthinned stand. In addition, future biomass estimates for a thinned stand can be obtained for a projection period of 1 to 10 years. These estimates can be used to assess forest ecosystem services of carbon sequestration and provide information that can be used to evaluate effects of different harvesting strategies on forest carbon and other nutrient pools. A comparison of these estimates to those obtained by the forest inventory and analysis (FIA) procedure, using data from eight FIA sample plots in the southern Appalachian region, indicated that estimating biomass directly from locally developed biomass equations may give biomass estimates for the tree bole and for tops and branches, that are different from those obtained by the FIA procedure.