Allometric biomass estimators for aspen-dominated ecosystems in the upper Great Lakes. Forest Service research paper

Abstract

The authors recently described the climate, geology, soils, and the biotic structure and dynamics of four contrasting ecosystems dominated by quaking and bigtooth aspen (Populus tremuloides and P. grandidentata). Other papers describe how those ecosystems responded to perturbation. Common to most of those papers were biomass estimates for the tree and shrub layers. The authors derived the estimators from weight and dimensional analysis of a subsample of stems measured on sample plots. They found much variability among sites that could not be adequately explained by stand or soils data. These equations should be useful in estimating woody plant components of similar forests on upland soils in the Upper Great Lakes region.