Skip to content
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Wood density, phytomass variations within and among trees, and allometric equations in a tropical rainforest of Africa
Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 260, No. 8, Year 2010
Notification
URL copied to clipboard!
Description
The development of tree allometric equations is crucial to accurate forest carbon assessment. However, very few allometric equations exist for sub-Saharan Africa and as a result generalized allometric equations, often established for forests in other continents, are used by default. The objectives of this study were (1) to propose a sampling methodology and calculation procedures to assess biomass for tropical tree species of contrasted tree shapes in Africa, (2) to identify factors affecting within and between trees wood density, (3) to propose an allometric model that integrates these factors and (4) to evaluate the reliability of using generalized allometric equations in this type of forests. Models were developed to predict wood density and phytomass of the trees based on the harvesting of 42 trees from 16 species, representing three guild status in the wet evergreen forest of Boi Tano in Ghana. Results indicated that the wood density was highly influenced by the tree species, guild status, size of the tree and pith to bark distance. Dry mass of a tree was influenced by diameter at breast height, crown diameter and wood density. The wood density depends on the position of the wood within the tree and the guild status considered. The use of generalized allometric models in literature is limited by the specific climate zone, the consideration of tree height and species specific wood density. In considering those factors, using generalized allometric equations could result in an error of 3%. Further research should better consider the bigger trees and the influence of the topography and ecosystem history. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.
Authors & Co-Authors
Henry, Matieu
Unknown Affiliation
Besnard, Aurélien G.
Unknown Affiliation
Asante, Winston Adams
Unknown Affiliation
Eshun, John Frank
Unknown Affiliation
Adu-Bredu, Stephen
Unknown Affiliation
Valentini, Riccardo
Unknown Affiliation
Bernoux, Martial
Unknown Affiliation
Saint-André, Laurent
Unknown Affiliation
Statistics
Citations: 311
Authors: 8
Affiliations: 9
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/j.foreco.2010.07.040
ISSN:
03781127
Research Areas
Environmental
Study Locations
Ghana