Effects of Forest Stand Structure in Biomass and Carbon

Abstract

Biomass has been gaining and increased interest due to their importance in sustainable forest management and in carbon sequestration. The biomass in each forest stand varies according to their structure and influences not only the biomass per area unit but also their distribution in space and time. The structure analysis with absolute stand density measures and structure and diversity measures and indices for the number of trees and basal area does not always reflect the above ground biomass distribution and variability. The use of above ground biomass as an absolute density measure and the development of diversity measures and indices derived from it enable further details in the stand structure characterisation. The results of this study highlighted the differences between pure even-aged, pure multiaged, mixed even-aged and mixed multiaged structures. The measures and indices of above ground biomass are considered primordial as they integrate the horizontal and the vertical distribution, thus enabling a more detailed evaluation of biomass and carbon stocks.