Abstract
Wood density ( ρ ) is a trait involved in forest biomass estimates, forest ecology, prediction of stand stability, wood science, and engineering. Regardless of its importance, data on ρ are scarce for a substantial number of species of the vast Atlantic Forest phytogeographic domain. Given that, the present paper describes a dataset composed of three data tables: (i) determinations of ρ (kg m−3) for 153 species growing in three forest types within the subtropical Atlantic Forest, based on wood samples collected throughout the state of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil; (ii) a list of 719 tree/shrub species observed by a state-level forest inventory and a ρ value assigned to each one of them based on local determinations and on a global database; (iii) the means and standard deviations of ρ for 477 permanent sample plots located in the subtropical Atlantic Forest, covering ∼95,000 km2. The mean ρ over the 153 sampled species is 538.6 kg m−3 (standard deviation = 120.5 kg m−3), and the mean ρ per sample plot, considering the three forest types, is 525.0 kg m−3 (standard error = 1.8 kg m−3). The described dataset has potential to underpin studies on forest biomass, forest ecology, alternative uses of timber resources, as well as to enlarge the coverage of global datasets.
Highlights
Basic density or specific gravity (ρ) is a physical property of the wood consisting in the ratio between its oven-dry mass and fresh volume
The use of ρ as a predictor variable in tree-level aboveground biomass (AGB) allometric models is being stimulated given the availability of global databases (e.g., Global Wood Density [1,2], GlobAllomeTree [3], and Try Plant Trait Database [4]) and regional studies
This paper describes a dataset that diminishes the knowledge gap on ρ of a considerable amount of species of the subtropical Atlantic Forest, aiming to reduce the uncertainty in forest biomass estimates [18] and in studies on functional ecology [1,13,14], among other demands
Summary
Basic density or specific gravity (ρ) is a physical property of the wood consisting in the ratio between its oven-dry mass and fresh volume. The use of ρ as a predictor variable in tree-level aboveground biomass (AGB) allometric models is being stimulated given the availability of global databases (e.g., Global Wood Density [1,2], GlobAllomeTree [3], and Try Plant Trait Database [4]) and regional studies. Calculating mean ρ values for the genus or botanical family is a workaround when information at the species level is missing [16,17] This approach, may increase the uncertainty in AGB estimates in secondary forests or in studies on functional ecology if a certain species’ ρ was determined based on an older individual growing in a mature forest, which may have greater ρ due to a larger volume of heartwood, for instance.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
