Estimation of biomass and nutrient storage in a Himalayan moist temperate forest

Abstract

Aboveground tree biomass, estimated for three relatively protected oak forest sites in the Kumaun Himalaya using allometric equations based on circumference at breast height and density, ranged from 197.2 to 322.8 t•ha⁻¹. Average leaf, twig, branch, and bole biomass proportions were 6.9, 11.6, 29.1, and 52.4%, respectively. Nutrients stored in the aboveground tree biomass on slightly acidic, fairly deep, residual sandy loams averaged (kilograms per hectare): ash, 7962.5; Ca, 4946.6; Mg, 831.9; N, 2270.7.