This paper presents new allometric models for woody savanna of the dry Sudanian zone of the southern part of Senegal and contributes to the needs for accurate and precise carbon estimates through improved statistical models and methods. The results are based on statistical relationships between the total dry biomass and either tree diameter at breast height (DBH) or tree height for a set of 101 individuals of different sizes from 13 dominant species in 6 protected forests. The statistical regression (cubic order 3) generated for DBH (5–41.5 cm) and tree height (2.5–15.6 m) showed significant R2 of 0.934 and 0.813, respectively. Using the same database, species-based models for the most represented genera (Acacia sp., Combretum sp. and Terminalia sp.) show more precision than the generic model. The model residual standard error and relative errors showed a good fit between observed and predicted data. Species-based models showed smaller errors compare to generic models outputs.

Authors: Mbow, C.; Verstraete, M.M.; Sambou, B.; Diaw, A.T.; Neufeldt, H.

Subjects: above-ground biomass, carbon, carbon sinks, carbon sequestration

Publication type: ISI, Journal Article, Publication

Year: 2014

ISSN: 1341-6979

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-013-0414-1