Aboveground Biomass Distribution And Variation In A Subtropical Forest Of China

Disentangling the processes controlling the distribution and variation in forest biomass change is necessary to understanding ecosystem functioning and productivity of forests.Forest structures are typically characterized by attributes such as trunk diameter,height,wood density and also tree species composition.These attributes play critical roles in influencing aboveground carbon(C)storage.This study aims to:(i)estimate and map tree and liana aboveground biomass(AGB)distribution and variation for tree species in a 50 ha subtropical forest plot in the Heishiding Nature Reserve(HSD)in Guangdong,and(ii)disentangle the effects of forest structural and taxonomic attributes on the AGB at different fine spatial scales.Tree AGB was estimated as a function of wood specific gravity(?,oven-dry wood over green volume)and two tree dimensions(dbh and height),while liana AGB was estimated from basal area.Our results showed that Chave's(2015)pantropical allometric equation best predicted total HSD 50 ha stand aboveground biomass.We found that stand structural diversity rather than species diversity determines more carbon storage in this secondary subtropical forest.The results showed that the density of “large trees” was the major contributor to the variations in AGB.Therefore,maintaining the structural diversity and the abundance distributions of large trees and key tree species constitutes an effective approach to enhance C sequestration and storage of forests.