Methods To Estimate Total Forest Biomass For Extensive Forest Inventories

Existing literature on procedures for estimating tree biomass for northeastern tree species includes a number of research studies that are specific and localized. As a result, there is little consistency in these estimation procedures, which are largely in the form of regression equations. In addition, many species are ignored that need to be quantified when inventories of forest resources are conducted over extensive areas. This makes it difficult to determine the most appropriate biomass-estimation procedures. In this paper, an evaluation is made of prediction models and their application over the entire range of northeastern tree species. Recommendations are also made on procedures for the more nontimber oriented elements of total forest biomass-shrub biomass, foliage biomass, stump and root biomass, and biomass on unproductive forest land.

This book provides detailed descriptions of the forest biomass projection systems used in 22 countries in Europe and North America, as well as four European-wide systems. Separate chapters focus on the concepts of estimation of availability of woody biomass, compare and classify the different projection systems, and discuss the challenges and opportunities for the further development of these systems.

This book has been developed as a forest inventory textbook for students and could also serve as a handbook for practical foresters. We have set out to keep the mathematics in the book at a fairly non-technical level, and therefore, although we deal with many issues that include highly sophisticated methodology, we try to present first and foremost the ideas behind them. For foresters who need more details, references are given to more advanced scientific papers and books in the fields of statistics and biometrics. Forest inventory books deal mostly with sampling and measurement issues, as found here in section I, but since forest inventories in many countries involve much more than this, we have also included material on forestry applications. Most applications nowadays involve remote sensing technology of some sort, so that section II deals mostly with the use of remote sensing material for this purpose. Section III deals with national inventories carried out in different parts of world, and section IV is an attempt to outline some future possibilities of forest inventory methodologies. The editors, Annika Kangas Professor of Forest Mensuration and Management, Department of Forest Resource Management, University of Helsinki. Matti Maltamo Professor of Forest Mensuration, Faculty of Forestry, University of Joensuu. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Forest mensuration – the science of measurement applied to forest vegetation and forest products – holds value for basic ecology as well as sustainable forest management. As demands on the world’s forests have grown, scientists and professionals are increasingly called on to quantify forest composition, structure, and the goods and services forests provide. Grounded in geometry, sampling theory, and ecology as well as practical field experience, forest mensuration offers opportunities for creative problem solving and critical thinking. This fifth edition of the classic volume, Forest Mensuration, includes coverage of traditional and emerging topics, with attention to SI and Imperial units throughout. The book has been reorganised from the fourth edition to better integrate non-timber and ecological aspects of forest mensuration at the tree, stand, forest, and landscape scales throughout. The new edition includes new chapters that specifically address the integration of remotely sensed data in the forest inventory process, and inventory methods for dead and downed wood. One unifying theme, not only for traditional forestry but for the non-timber inventory and for remote sensing, is the use of covariates to make sampling more efficient and spatially explicit. This is introduced in the introductory chapter on statistics and the chapter on sampling designs has been restructured to highlight this approach and lay the foundation for further learning. New examples will be developed throughout the textbook with an emphasis on current issues and international practice. Students in applied forestry programs will find ample coverage of forest products and timber inventory, while expanded material on biodiversity, biomass and carbon inventory, downed dead wood, and the growing role of remote sensing in forest assessment will be valuable to a broader audience in applied ecology.

Everyone who works with forests must measure them, foresters, forestry students, scientists or forest owners. This book summarises modern forest measurement techniques for all those people. It describes how to measure forests, why they are measured and the basis of the science behind the measurements. Trees and forests are large and complex, but even something as difficult as the amount of wood they contain can be measured with quite unsophisticated equipment. This is a book written for all, from professional foresters to the lay person, in fact anyone who needs to measure forests anywhere in the world.

A database consisting of 2,640 equations compiled from the literature for predicting the biomass of trees and tree components from diameter measurements of species found in North America. Bibliographic information, geographic locations, diameter limits, diameter and biomass units, equation forms, statistical errors, and coefficients are provided for each equation, along with examples of how to use the database. The CD-ROM included with the paper version of this publication contains the complete database (Table 3) in spreadsheet format (Microsoft Excel 2002® with Windows XP®). The database files can also be viewed in both spreadsheet and pdf formats by directing your browser to the Global Change page at http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/global/pubs/books/index.html