Allometric models for biomass, nutrients and carbon stock in Excoecaria agallocha of the Sundarbans, Bangladesh

• Published in: Wetlands ecology and management 2015-08, Vol.23 (4), p.765-774
• Main Authors: Hossain, Mahmood, Siddique, Mohammad Raqibul Hasan, Saha, Sanjoy, Abdullah, S. M. Rubaiot
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: aboveground biomass; allometry; antimony; Bark; Biomass; Biomedical and Life Sciences; branches; Carbon; carbon sinks; Conservation; Conservation Biology/Ecology; Environmental Law/Policy/Ecojustice; Excoecaria agallocha; Forest management; forests; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Hydrology/Water Resources; Independent variables; Leaves; Life Sciences; Management; managers; Marine & Freshwater Sciences; Nitrogen; nitrogen content; Nutrients; Original Paper; Phosphorus; Plant populations; potassium; Sustainability management; tree and stand measurements; Trees; Water Quality/Water Pollution; Wetlands
• ISSN: 0923-4861; 1572-9834
• DOI: 10.1007/s11273-015-9419-1

Allometric relationships between easily measurable independent variables like diameter at breast height (DBH) and total height (TH) and biomass of leaf, branch, bark, stem without bark, and total above-ground biomass of Excoecaria agallocha L. were tested. Similarly, relationships between independent variables (DBH and HT); and nutrients (N, P and K) and carbon content in total above-ground biomass were also evaluated. The best fit allometric models were selected by considering the values of parameter of estimation of the models such as R², CV, Rₘₛₑ, MSₑᵣᵣₒᵣ, Sₐ, Sb, and Akaike’s information criterion corrected (AICc). The selected allometric models were Log Biomass = 0.9256 Log DBH² − 2.133; Log biomass = 1.1656 Log DBH² − 1.7047; Log biomass = 1.0824 Log DBH² − 1.7568; Log biomass = 1.0927 Log DBH² − 1.0275; Log biomass = 1.0996 Log DBH² − 0.8572 respectively for leaf, branch, bark, stem without bark and total above-ground biomass. Whereas the selected allometric models for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and carbon were Log N = 1.0972 Log DBH² − 3.0845; Log P = 1.0947 Log DBH² − 5.6790; Log K = 1.0990 Log DBH² − 3.0370; Log C = 1.1 Log DBH² − 1.1937 respectively. Highest concentration of nitrogen (16.07 mg/g) and phosphorus (0.05 mg/g) was observed in leaf, while higher concentration (45.95–48.60 %) of carbon was observed in stem and bigger branches. The findings of this study are first-hand information for forest managers and conservation workers for sustainable management of E. agallocha in the Sundarbans of Bangladesh.