Sapwood Basal Area and Needle Mass of Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) Trees in Central Sweden

Abstract

The relationship between foliage mass or area and sapwood basal area is of potential interest in the quest for cheap and simple methods of estimating foliage biomass. The sapwood basal area and the needle dry weight were obtained by destructive sampling for 153 Scots pine trees ( Pinus sylvestris L.) from 16 stands in central Sweden. The regression relationship between needle mass and sapwood basal area was strong for single stands, but it did not seem appropriate to aggregate the material into one overall regression, having sapwood basal area as the only independent variable. It was shown that the needle biomass per unit of sapwood basal area varied with mean annual ring width in the sapwood. This information was used in an improved overall model.