Forest Sciences Commons^™

Integrating Liana Abundance And Forest Stature Into An Estimate Of Total Aboveground Biomass For An Eastern Amazonian Forest, Jeffrey J. Gerwing, Damiao Lopes Farias

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study provides an estimate of aboveground live biomass for an intact eastern Amazonian forest. An allometric regression biomass equation was developed to estimate the aboveground biomass of live lianas. This equation, together with a previously published equation for trees, was then used to estimate the contributions of lianas and trees to the total biomass of forest patches in four stature classes: gap (openings in the canopy of at least 25 m2 with the dominant vegetation < 3 m high), low (3±15 m canopy height), medium (15±25 m canopy height), and high (> 25 m canopy height). Total stand-level biomass was estimated as the weighted average of the stature classes. In 130 ha of surveyed forest, forest …