Tree Allometrics

Equations / Aboveground biomass

Understorey AGB from D30 and wood density

Aboveground biomassUnderstorey trees and saplings, 184 species (stems 1–10 cm diameter)CameroonnaturalRead from the original paper
Many species, no single photo
Equation

As printed (Table 2, block "All (1≤ diameter <10 cm)", p. 5)

lnM= a + b × ln(D) + c × ln(ρ) 1023 -2.144*** 2.505*** 1.164*** 0.184 0.419 0.936 1126 0.09 1.16

In this library's units, ready to compute (kg)

Aboveground biomass = exp(-2.144 + 2.505 * ln(D30) + 1.164 * ln(rho))
D30
Stem diameter at 30 cm, cm
rho
Wood density (oven-dry mass / green volume), g/cm³

Selected from Table 2/3 "All" (1 ≤ diameter < 10 cm, n = 1023) block; the paper also gives separate seedling (1-5 cm) and sapling (5-10 cm) fits and crown-diameter models (not included: crown diameter unit is ambiguous, Table 1 header says cm but values are 0.19-7.55). D is the stem diameter at 30 cm above ground (D30), not DBH, so no DBH range is stored; Table 1 gives D 1.00-9.99 cm and H 0.86-15.55 m for the whole data set. Wood density is the mean of base, trunk and branch samples (dry weight / fresh volume). Published as the plain exp() back-transform: the paper lists a CF column (= RSE²/2, an additive term on the log scale) but does not print the corrected equation, so no correction factor is applied or stored. Total AGB = trunk + branches + leaves (dry mass, oven-dried at 105/70 °C). Recommended by the authors: the models with more predictors fit better (Adj.R² up to 0.956 with four predictors); the D-only model is the simplest.

Source
H: tree height; ρ: wood density; C: crown diameter; N: sample size; a, b, c and d are the model’s fitted parameters
Units · Table 3 note, p. 6
AGB and several measurement variables (diameter, height, crown diameter, and wood density) were measured on 1023 understorey stems belonging to 184 species
Trees measured · Data collection, p. 3
The diameter was measured at 30 cm aboveground level
Note · Data collection, p. 3
The correction factor (CF) calculated by the formula CF= RSE²/2 (5)
Note · Data analysis, p. 4
Trees measured
1,023
Residual SE
0.419
Method
log-log regression, lnM = a + b ln(X1) + ...
Where
Semi-deciduous rainforest, East region, Cameroon
Last checked
2026-11-02
Calculate
0.935
Aboveground biomass (kg)
0.44
Carbon (kg), ×0.47
1.61
CO₂e (kg), ×44/12
Checks this equation passes

On every build, the library's form and the paper's own form (in its units) must both give these values within 1%.

InputsExpectedWe getFrom
D30 = 3, rho = 0.560.9350.935Computed from the printed form
computed with python3 from the published form (uncorrected, as printed)
D30 = 8, rho = 0.611.811.8Computed from the printed form
computed with python3 from the published form (uncorrected, as printed)

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