Testing the generality of above-ground biomass allometry across plant functional types at the continent scale

Authors

Keryn I. Paul, CSIRO Agriculture and CSIRO Land and Water, Canberra, Australia
Stephen H. Roxburgh, CSIRO Agriculture and CSIRO Land and Water, Canberra, Australia
Jerome Chave, CNRS & Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
Jacqueline R. England, CSIRO Agriculture and CSIRO Land and Water, Victoria, Australia
Ayalsew Zerihun, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia
Alison Specht, University of Queensland, Australia
Tom Lewis, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Lauren T. Bennett, University of Melbourne, Australia
Thomas G. Baker, University of Melbourne, Australia
Mark A. Adams, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
Dan Huxtable, Equinox Environmental Pty Ltd., 6 Craigie Cres, Manning, Western Australia
Kelvin D. Montagu, Colo Consulting, Winmalee, Parramatta, NSW, Australia
Daniel S. Falster, Macquarie University, NSW, Australia
Mike Feller, University of British Columbia, Canada
Stan Sochacki, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia
Peter Ritson, FarmWoods, 3/104 South Street, Fremantle, Western Australia
Gary Bastin, Department of Land Resource Management, Alice Springs, Northen Territory, Australia
John Bartle, Department of Parks and Wildlife, Perth, Western Australia
Dan Wildy, Fares Rural Pty Ltd, PO Box 526 Wembley, Western Australia
Trevor Hobbs, Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Adelaide, South Australia
John Larmour, CSIRO Agriculture and CSIRO Land and Water, Canberra, Australia
Rob Waterworth, Mullion Group, 2a Fitzroy Rd, Forrest, ACT, Australia
Hugh T.L. Stewart, Hugh Stewart Consulting, 8 Upland Road, Strathmore, Victoria, Australia
Justin Jonson, The University of Western Australia, Albany, Australia
David I. Forrester, Freiburg University, Freiburg, Germany
Grahame Applegate, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Daniel Mendham, CSIRO Agriculture CSIRO Land and Water, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Matt Bradford, CSIRO Land and Water, Atherton, Queensland, Australia
Anthony O'Grady, CSIRO Agriculture CSIRO Land and Water, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Daryl Green, PO Box 1683, Dubbo, NSW, 2830 Australia
Rob Sudmeyer, Department of Agriculture and Food, Esperance, Western AustraliaFollow
Stan J. Rance, CSIRO Land and Water, Wembley, Western Australia
John Turner, Forsci Pty Ltd., Ste 4.05/ 32 Delhi Rd, North Ryde, NSW, 2113 Australia
Craig Barton, Western Sydney University, NSW, Australia
Elizabeth H. Wenk, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Tim Grove, CSIRO Land and Water, Wembley, Western Australia
Peter M. Attiwill, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Elizabeth Pinkard, CSIRO Agriculture CSIRO Land and Water, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Don Butler, Queensland Herbarium, Toowong, Qld, Australia
Kim Brooksbank, Department of Agriculture and Food, Albany, Western AustraliaFollow
Beren Spencer, Department of Parks and Wildlife, Perth, Western Australia
Peter Snowdon, CSIRO Agriculture and CSIRO Land and Water, Canberra, Australia
Nick O'Brien, New Forests Asset Management Pty Ltd., PO Box 434, North Sydney, NSW, Australia
Michael Battaglia, CSIRO Agriculture CSIRO Land and Water, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
David M. Cameron, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia
Steve Hamilton, Hamilton Environmental Services, 2345 Benalla-Tatong Road, Tatong, Vic., Australia
Geoff McArthur, AusCarbon Pty Ltd., PO Box 395, Nedlands, WA, Australia
Jenny Sinclair, Green Collar Group, Level 1, 37 George St, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-2016

Journal Title

Global Change Biology

ISSN

ISSN 1354-1013 eISSN 1365-2486

Keywords

Above ground; Density; Destructive; Diameter; Eucalyptus; Height; Multi-stemmed; Shrubs; Carbon; Global carbon budget; Allometric models

Disciplines

Agricultural Science | Botany | Climate | Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment | Environmental Monitoring | Forest Biology | Molecular Biology | Natural Resources Management and Policy | Numerical Analysis and Computation | Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computing | Plant Biology | Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

Abstract

Accurate ground-based estimation of the carbon stored in terrestrial ecosystems is critical to quantifying the global carbon budget. Allometric models provide cost-effective methods for biomass prediction. But do such models vary with ecoregion or plant functional type? We compiled 15 054 measurements of individual tree or shrub biomass from across Australia to examine the generality of allometric models for above-ground biomass prediction. This provided a robust case study because Australia includes ecoregions ranging from arid shrublands to tropical rainforests, and has a rich history of biomass research, particularly in planted forests. Regardless of ecoregion, for five broad categories of plant functional type (shrubs; multistemmed trees; trees of the genus Eucalyptus and closely related genera; other trees of high wood density; and other trees of low wood density), relationships between biomass and stem diameter were generic. Simple power-law models explained 84–95% of the variation in biomass, with little improvement in model performance when other plant variables (height, bole wood density), or site characteristics (climate, age, management) were included. Predictions of stand-based biomass from allometric models of varying levels of generalization (species-specific, plant functional type) were validated using whole-plot harvest data from 17 contrasting stands (range: 9–356 Mg ha−1). Losses in efficiency of prediction werestand-level biomass prediction was 99%, with a mean absolute prediction error of only 13%. Hence, for cost-effective prediction of biomass across a wide range of stands, we recommend use of generic allometric models based on plant functional types. Development of new species-specific models is only warranted when gains in accuracy of stand-based predictions are relatively high (e.g. high-value monocultures).

Recommended Citation

Paul, K.I., Roxburgh, S.H., Chave, J., England, J.R., Zerihun, A., Specht, A., Lewis, T., Bennett, L.T., Baker, T.G., Adams, M.A., Huxtable, D., Montagu, K.D., Falster, D.S., Feller, M., Sochacki, S., Ritson, P., Bastin, G., Bartle, J., Wildy, D., Hobbs, T., Larmour, J., Waterworth, R., Stewart, H.T.L., Jonson, J., Forrester, D.I., Applegate, G., Mendham, D., Bradford, M., O'Grady, A., Green, D., Sudmeyer, R., Rance, S.J., Turner, J., Barton, C., Wenk, E.H., Grove, T., Attiwill, P.M., Pinkard, E., Butler, D., Brooksbank, K., Spencer, B., Snowdon, P., O'Brien, N., Battaglia, M., Cameron, D.M., Hamilton, S., McArthur, G. and Sinclair, J. (2016), Testing the generality of above-ground biomass allometry across plant functional types at the continent scale. Glob Change Biol, 22: 2106-2124. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13201