Improved leaf area index based biomass estimations for Zostera marina L.

Abstract

The application of special scanning technologies in plant population studies makes it now possible to offer reliable indirect estimations of Leaf Area Index (LAI). This has stimulated the adaptation of related biomass assessment methods and has provided a way to simplify tedious laboratory procedures whilst avoiding destructive sampling. Particularly, above-ground biomass for Zostera marina L. has been expressed depending linearly on Leaf Area Index. Nevertheless, we demonstrate that this approach produces biased estimations. It is also shown that expressing leaf dry weight by means of an allometric function of length and width can eliminate bias. Furthermore, the dominant term of the associated power series expansion becomes the aforementioned linear representation in terms of Leaf Area Index. The consistency of the estimation methods derived from the allometric model was tested using data from a Z. marina meadow. Consequently, the improved method is expected to become a valuable tool for the reduction of the uncertainty associated with the estimation of above-ground biomass through the use of Leaf Area Index.