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Models Predicting Above- and Belowground Biomass of Thicket and Associate Tree Species in Itigi Thicket Vegetation of Tanzania

Received: 24 June 2016    Accepted: 05 July 2016    Published: 21 July 2016
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Abstract

Itigi thicket is a unique vegetation type for Tanzania and is regarded as ecologically sensitive, thus earmarked for conservation. The objective of this study was to develop species-specific biomass models for two dominating thicket species and mixed-species biomass models for associate trees in Itigi thicket vegetation. Data were collected through destructive sampling (60 thicket clumps and 30 associate trees) and covered two dominant thicket species: Combretum celastroides Laws and Pseudoprosopsis fischeri (Tab) Harms and five dominant associate tree species: Canthium burtii Bullock sensu R. B. Drumm, Cassipourea mollis (R. E. Fr.) Alston, Haplocoelum foliolosum L, Lannea fulva (Engl.) England Vangueria madagascariensis J. F. Gmelin. Different nonlinear multiplicative model forms were tested, and models were selected based on Akaike Information Criterion. Large parts of the variation in biomass of thicket clumps were explained by basal area weighed mean diameter at breast height of stems in the clump and number of stems in the clump, i.e. for aboveground biomass (AGB) and belowground biomass (BGB) of C. celastroides up to 89% and 82% respectively and for AGB and BGB of P. fischeri up to 96% and 95% respectively. For associate trees most variation was explained by diameter at breast height (dbh) alone, i.e. up to 85% and 69% for ABG and BGB respectively. Although there will be some uncertainties related to biomass estimates for large areas, for practical reasons, we recommend the selected models to be applied to the entire area where Itigi thicket extends outside our study site, and also to those thicket and associate tree species present that were not included in the data used for modelling.

DOI 10.11648/j.aff.20160504.14
Published in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Volume 5, Issue 4, August 2016)
Page(s) 115-125
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Biomass Models, Above- and Belowground, Root Sampling, Root to Shoot Ratio

References
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Author Information
  • Forestry Training Institute, Olmotonyi, Arusha, Tanzania

  • Department of Forest Mensuration and Management, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania

  • Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, ?s, Norway

  • Department of Forest Mensuration and Management, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania

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    Joseph Sitima Makero, Rogers Ernest Malimbwi, Tron Eid, Eliakimu Zahabu. (2016). Models Predicting Above- and Belowground Biomass of Thicket and Associate Tree Species in Itigi Thicket Vegetation of Tanzania. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 5(4), 115-125. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20160504.14

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    ACS Style

    Joseph Sitima Makero; Rogers Ernest Malimbwi; Tron Eid; Eliakimu Zahabu. Models Predicting Above- and Belowground Biomass of Thicket and Associate Tree Species in Itigi Thicket Vegetation of Tanzania. Agric. For. Fish. 2016, 5(4), 115-125. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20160504.14

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    AMA Style

    Joseph Sitima Makero, Rogers Ernest Malimbwi, Tron Eid, Eliakimu Zahabu. Models Predicting Above- and Belowground Biomass of Thicket and Associate Tree Species in Itigi Thicket Vegetation of Tanzania. Agric For Fish. 2016;5(4):115-125. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20160504.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.aff.20160504.14,
      author = {Joseph Sitima Makero and Rogers Ernest Malimbwi and Tron Eid and Eliakimu Zahabu},
      title = {Models Predicting Above- and Belowground Biomass of Thicket and Associate Tree Species in Itigi Thicket Vegetation of Tanzania},
      journal = {Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries},
      volume = {5},
      number = {4},
      pages = {115-125},
      doi = {10.11648/j.aff.20160504.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20160504.14},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.aff.20160504.14},
      abstract = {Itigi thicket is a unique vegetation type for Tanzania and is regarded as ecologically sensitive, thus earmarked for conservation. The objective of this study was to develop species-specific biomass models for two dominating thicket species and mixed-species biomass models for associate trees in Itigi thicket vegetation. Data were collected through destructive sampling (60 thicket clumps and 30 associate trees) and covered two dominant thicket species: Combretum celastroides Laws and Pseudoprosopsis fischeri (Tab) Harms and five dominant associate tree species: Canthium burtii Bullock sensu R. B. Drumm, Cassipourea mollis (R. E. Fr.) Alston, Haplocoelum foliolosum L, Lannea fulva (Engl.) England Vangueria madagascariensis J. F. Gmelin. Different nonlinear multiplicative model forms were tested, and models were selected based on Akaike Information Criterion. Large parts of the variation in biomass of thicket clumps were explained by basal area weighed mean diameter at breast height of stems in the clump and number of stems in the clump, i.e. for aboveground biomass (AGB) and belowground biomass (BGB) of C. celastroides up to 89% and 82% respectively and for AGB and BGB of P. fischeri up to 96% and 95% respectively. For associate trees most variation was explained by diameter at breast height (dbh) alone, i.e. up to 85% and 69% for ABG and BGB respectively. Although there will be some uncertainties related to biomass estimates for large areas, for practical reasons, we recommend the selected models to be applied to the entire area where Itigi thicket extends outside our study site, and also to those thicket and associate tree species present that were not included in the data used for modelling.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Models Predicting Above- and Belowground Biomass of Thicket and Associate Tree Species in Itigi Thicket Vegetation of Tanzania
    AU  - Joseph Sitima Makero
    AU  - Rogers Ernest Malimbwi
    AU  - Tron Eid
    AU  - Eliakimu Zahabu
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.aff.20160504.14
    T2  - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
    JF  - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
    JO  - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
    SP  - 115
    EP  - 125
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5648
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20160504.14
    AB  - Itigi thicket is a unique vegetation type for Tanzania and is regarded as ecologically sensitive, thus earmarked for conservation. The objective of this study was to develop species-specific biomass models for two dominating thicket species and mixed-species biomass models for associate trees in Itigi thicket vegetation. Data were collected through destructive sampling (60 thicket clumps and 30 associate trees) and covered two dominant thicket species: Combretum celastroides Laws and Pseudoprosopsis fischeri (Tab) Harms and five dominant associate tree species: Canthium burtii Bullock sensu R. B. Drumm, Cassipourea mollis (R. E. Fr.) Alston, Haplocoelum foliolosum L, Lannea fulva (Engl.) England Vangueria madagascariensis J. F. Gmelin. Different nonlinear multiplicative model forms were tested, and models were selected based on Akaike Information Criterion. Large parts of the variation in biomass of thicket clumps were explained by basal area weighed mean diameter at breast height of stems in the clump and number of stems in the clump, i.e. for aboveground biomass (AGB) and belowground biomass (BGB) of C. celastroides up to 89% and 82% respectively and for AGB and BGB of P. fischeri up to 96% and 95% respectively. For associate trees most variation was explained by diameter at breast height (dbh) alone, i.e. up to 85% and 69% for ABG and BGB respectively. Although there will be some uncertainties related to biomass estimates for large areas, for practical reasons, we recommend the selected models to be applied to the entire area where Itigi thicket extends outside our study site, and also to those thicket and associate tree species present that were not included in the data used for modelling.
    VL  - 5
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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