Estimation of aboveground biomass, stand density, and biomass growth per year in the past using stand reconstruction technique in black spruce and Scotch pine in boreal forest

• Published in: Polar Science
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Aboveground biomass; Stand growth; Tree-ring; Distribution function; Growth patterns; Northwest Territories; Inuvik; Polar Science; Lapland
• Online Access: https://nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_uri&item_id=16978; http://id.nii.ac.jp/1291/00016847/

Growth development histories and stands structures of Picea mariana in Inuvik (Canadian Northwest Territories), and Pinus sylvetstris in Värriö (Finnish Lapland) forests were reconstructed using the stand reconstruction algorithm. Informations of present forest variables i.e., stem diameter at breast height (DBH), tree height (H), and detailed tree-ring data obtained from selected sampled trees were used. Development of forests structure in the past, and their annual changes were reconstructed (i.e., aboveground biomass, annual biomass growth, and stand density). Reconstructed aboveground biomass showed that the beta-type distribution function of individual tree size in the forests has been maintained throughout the years in the past. Several fluctuations in biomass growth over time were also observed. Reconstruction showed that stand density generally decreased overtime in P. sylvestris, which is a typical pattern for overcrowded population, but keeps increasing in P. mariana. Long-term reconstruction of stand structure can provide important baseline information for forest ecology and any management or restoration activities in the point of view of climate change. However, estimation of stand density and biomass growth can be improved by a careful selection of sample trees for stem analysis, but also by collecting growth information of dead wood materials.