Geographic gradients of forest biomass of two nee-dled pines on the territory of Eurasia

Abstract

On the basis of the compiled database in a number of 3020 sample plots with determinations of forest biomass of two-needled pines (subgenus Pinus ) on theterritory ofEurasia fromGreat Britain to southernChina andJapan statistically significant transcontinental gradients of stem, roots, aboveground and total biomass are established. In the direction from North to South these biomass components change according to a bell-shaped curvewith a maximum in the third (the southern temperate) zonal belt, while the biomass of needles, branches and understory is monotonically increasing within this zonal gradient from subarctic to subequatorial zonal belts. In the direction from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to the continentality pole inSiberia there is a biomass decrease as of all components of the wood story and the understory. The root: shoot ratio increases in the range between subarctic and southern temperate zone from 12 to 22% and then decreases to 16% in the subtropical zone, and within the southern temperate zone it monotonically increases from 20% on the oceanic coasts to 23% near continentality pole. The ratio of understory biomass to wood story biomass reduced from 4.0 to 2.5% ranging from subarctic to southern temperate zone and then rises to 3.5% in the subtropical zone, and within the south temperate zone it monotonically decreasing from the maximum value of 22% near Atlantic and Pacific coasts, approaching the level of 2-3% near the continentality pole. The results can be useful in the management of biosphere functions of forests undoubtedly.