Tree Allometrics

Equations / Aboveground biomass

Understorey AGB from D30 (1-10 cm stems)

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) 1023 -2.811*** 2.474*** 0.199 0.475 0.918 1384 0.11 0.11

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

Aboveground biomass = exp(-2.811 + 2.474 * ln(D30))
D30
Stem diameter at 30 cm, cm

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
0.475
Method
log-log regression, lnM = a + b ln(X1) + ...
Where
Semi-deciduous rainforest, East region, Cameroon
Last checked
2026-11-02
Calculate
0.911
Aboveground biomass (kg)
0.428
Carbon (kg), ×0.47
1.57
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 = 30.9110.911Computed from the printed form
computed with python3 from the published form (uncorrected, as printed)
D30 = 810.310.3Computed from the printed form
computed with python3 from the published form (uncorrected, as printed)

Report a problem with this equation · JSON

Related

Compare these curves