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Estimation of root biomass based on excavation of individual root systems in a primary dipterocarp forest in Pasoh Forest Reserve, Peninsular Malaysia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 March 2010

Kaoru Niiyama ,
Takuya Kajimoto ,
Yojiro Matsuura ,
Tamon Yamashita ,
Naoko Matsuo ,
Yuichiro Yashiro ,
Azizi Ripin ,
Abd. Rahman Kassim  and
Nur Supardi Noor
Kaoru Niiyama*
Affiliation:
Tohoku Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, 92-25 Nabeyashiki, Shimo-Kuriyagawa, Morioka, Iwate, 020-0123, Japan
Takuya Kajimoto
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Ecology, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Matsunosato 1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8687, Japan
Yojiro Matsuura
Affiliation:
Department of Forest Environment, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Matsunosato 1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8687, Japan
Tamon Yamashita
Affiliation:
Education and Research Center for Biological Resources, Shimane University, Matsue, Shimane 690-8504, Japan
Naoko Matsuo
Affiliation:
Faculty of Bioresources, Mie University, Tsu, Mie, 514-8507, Japan
Yuichiro Yashiro
Affiliation:
The River Basin Research Center, Gifu University, Gifu, 501-1193, Japan
Azizi Ripin
Affiliation:
Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, 52109, Selangor, Malaysia
Abd. Rahman Kassim
Affiliation:
Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, 52109, Selangor, Malaysia
Nur Supardi Noor
Affiliation:
Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, 52109, Selangor, Malaysia
*
1Corresponding author. Email: niiya@ffpri.affrc.go.jp
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Abstract:

Precise estimation of root biomass is important for understanding carbon stocks and dynamics in tropical rain forests. However, limited information is available on individual root masses, especially large trees. We excavated 121 root systems of various species (78) and sizes (up to 116 cm in dbh), and estimated both above- and below-ground biomass in a lowland primary dipterocarp forest in the Pasoh Forest Reserve, Peninsular Malaysia. A tree census was conducted in four research plots (each 0.2 ha) and stand-level biomass was estimated. We examined relationships between tree size parameters and masses of coarse roots (roots ≥5 mm in diameter) and derived a dbh-based allometric equation. The amounts of coarse roots that were lost during excavation were corrected. Coarse-root biomass before and after correction for lost roots was estimated to be 63.8 and 82.7 Mg ha−1, indicating that significant amounts of roots (23%) were lost during the sampling. We also estimated the biomass of small root (<5 mm) by applying pipe-model theory. The estimate, 13.3 Mg ha−1, was similar to another estimate of small roots, 16.4 Mg ha−1, which was obtained directly by the soil-pit sampling method. Total below-ground (BGB) and above-ground biomass (AGB) was estimated to be 95.9 and 536 Mg ha−1, respectively. The biomass-partitioning ratio (BGB/AGB) was about 0.18. In conclusion, the dbh-based allometric equation for coarse roots developed in this study, which kept good linearity even including the data of larger trees, might be useful for evaluating below-ground carbon stocks in other stands of similar forest (old-growth dipterocarp) in South-East Asia.

Keywords

allometrybiomass allocationdipterocarpfine rootslost rootsprimary tropical rain forest
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , May 2010 , pp. 271 - 284
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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References

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