Effects of Stand Age on Biomass Allocation and Allometry of Quercus Acutissima in the Central Loess Plateau of China

Abstract

We studied the effects of stand age on allocation and equation fitting of aboveground and below-ground biomass in four Quercus acutissima stands (14, 31, 46, and 63 years old) in the Central Loess Plateau of China. The stem wood, stem bark, branch, foliage, and belowground biomass of each of the 20 destructive harvesting trees were quantified. The mean total biomass of each tree was 28.8, 106.8, 380.6, and 603.4 kg/tree in the 14-, 31-, 46-, and 63-year-old stands, respectively. Aboveground biomass accounted for 72.25%, 73.05%, 76.14%, and 80.37% of the total tree biomass in the 14-, 31-, 46-, and 63-year-old stands, respectively, and stem wood was the major component of tree biomass. The proportion of stem (with bark) biomass to total tree biomass increased with stand age while the proportions of branch, foliage, and belowground biomass to total tree biomass decreased with stand age. The ratio of belowground biomass to aboveground biomass decreased from 0.39 in the 14-year-old stand to 0.37, 0.31, and 0.24 in the 31-, 46-, and 63-year-old stands, respectively. Age-specific biomass equations in each stand were developed for stem wood, stem bark, aboveground, and total tree. The inclusion of tree height as a second variable improved the total tree biomass equation fitting for middle-aged (31-year-old and 46-year-old) stands but not young (14 years old) and mature (63 years old) stands. Moreover, biomass conversion and expansion factors (BCEFs) varied with stand age, showing a decreasing trend with increasing stand age. These results indicate that stand age alters the biomass allocation of Q. acutissima and results in age-specific allometric biomass equations and BCEFs. Therefore, to obtain accurate estimates of Q. acutissima forest biomass and carbon stocks, age-specific changes need to be considered.