%0 Research article
%T Foliage and branch biomass estimation of coniferous and deciduous tree species
%A Grote, Rüdiger
%D 2002
%J Silva Fennica
%V 36
%N 4
%R doi:10.14214/sf.520
%U https://silvafennica.fi/article/520
%X Under changing environmental conditions, biomass development on the tree  and the stand level may differ from today, regardless if the induced  change is due to a shift in the general climate properties or to forest  management. Under these conditions, tree biomass can not be derived from  tables based on former investigations but has to be defined from  particular biomass investigations, which generally calculate tree and  stand biomass from sample branches using allometric relationships.  Therefore, sample measurements on harvested trees are needed. In this  paper, foliage and branch biomass estimation for 6 Norway spruces (Picea  abies) and 6 beeches (Fagus sylvatica) harvested in a 56-year-old mixed  stand in southern Germany is presented. Different allometric models are  investigated to derive branch biomass from branch dimension for both  species. The equations that are based on branch length, foliated branch  fraction, and branch diameter are used for tree and stand level  estimates. However, the variation within the 6 trees of each species was  too large for a reliable calculation of stand biomass, especially in  case of beech branch wood. Furthermore, the necessity of allometric  relations and their applicability in individual-tree models is  discussed, and the importance of suitable branch- and tree selection is  underlined.