Assessing the biomass of shrubs typical of Mediterranean pre-forest communities
Author(s)
Corona, Piermaria
Pasta, Salvatore
Giardina, Giovanni
La Mantia, Tommaso
Date Issued
2012
Type
article
Abstract
One of the most outstanding issues of current environmental research is the need of reliable assessments of carbon stock (i.e.
above-ground (a.g.) and below-ground biomass, deadwood, litter, and organic soil matter) within forest ecosystems.
Although shrub vegetation plays an important role in accumulating carbon in many Mediterranean environments, there is
still very little knowledge on the carbon they store. In this article, we analyze the a.g. carbon stock of several Mediterranean
shrubby communities in Sicily (Italy), dominated by Pistacia lentiscus, Chamaerops humilis, Euphorbia dendroides and Spartium
junceum. Plant samples for each species were selected, and morphometric attributes (height, crown diameter, diameter at
breast height, etc.) were measured to establish models for estimating a.g. biomass. Dendrometric data were also used to
support the assessment of shrub biomass at community level by coupling them with the coverage of the considered woody
species estimated from several hundreds of phytosociological releve´s carried out on pre-forest Sicilian communities.
Although the results of such an approach have to be considered as rough assessments, the trial proves interesting, given the
lack of information on stand biomass of pre-forest vegetation within the Mediterraean region.
Additional information
L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore http://www.tandfonline.com
Citation
Corona, P. et al. 2012. Assessing the biomass of shrubs typical of Mediterranean pre-forest communities. "Plant Biosystems" 146 (2): 252-257
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