Yowhan Son, Jae Woo Hwang, Zin Suh Kim, Woo Kyun Lee, Jong Sung Kim

Department of Forest Resources and Envirnmental Sciences, Korea University, Seoul 136-701, South Korea

Department of Forest Resources, Yeuangnam University, Kyungsan 712-749, South Korea

Received 8 September 2000; received in revised form 27 December 2000; accepted 28 December 2000

 

Abstract: Aboveground tree biomass of Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis Sieb. et Zucc.) was determined for a natural forest of Korean pine and mixed deciduous trees and seven age classes of plantation forests in central Korea. Regression analyses of the dry weights of stem wood, stem bark, branches, and needles versus diameter at breast height were used to calculate regression equations of the form of log Y= a+blogX. Biomass of Korean pine in the mixed forest was 118Mg ha-1, and biomass in the plantations was linearly related to stand age, ranging from 52.3Mg ha-1 in 11 to 20-year-old stands to 317.9Mg ha-1 in 71 to 80-year-old stands. The  proportions of stem wood and stem bark in the total aboveground biomass decreased with stand age while those of branch and needle increased. Specific leaf area of Korean pine ranging from 35.2 to 52.1cm2 g-1 was significantly different among crown positions and needle ages; in general, lower crown position and current needles had the greatest surface area per unit dry weight.

 

Keywords: Aboveground biomass; Allometric regression equation; Korean pine; Natural forest; Pinus koraiensis; Plantation; Specific leaf area