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Predicting carbon for Douglas-fir
Authors: Leith Knowles, Mark Kimberley, Piers Maclaren*, this paper is dedicated to the late Leith KnowlesPublication: New Zealand Journal of Forestry, Volume N.Z.J.For. 2009, Issue N.Z.J.For. 54(4) 2010, pp 39-42, Jan 2010
Publisher: New Zealand Institute of Forestry
Abstract: A method was developed to estimate the total carbon in live Douglas-fir stands (ie stemwood, bark, crown, and roots). The weight of stemwood was estimated by a pre-existing volumetric model (DFNAT) combined with a measurement of basic density. Bark was estimated as a proportion of stemwood. The weight of the crowns, and the weight of roots, was linked to the oven-dry weight of stemwood plus bark. Elemental carbon was assumed to be half the dry weight. These equations were installed in a pre-existing delivery mechanism (“The Douglas-fir Calculator”) that predicts the physical and financial outcomes from a single hectare of even-aged trees. The equations in this paper are an improvement on previous estimates that had used linear rather than non-linear relationships, as well as an intercept value that gave irrational results for very low levels of stem biomass.