Improved Estimates of Biomass Expansion Factors for Russian Forests

Biomass structure is an important feature of terrestrial vegetation. The parameters of forest biomass structure are important for forest monitoring, biomass modelling and the optimal utilization and management of forests. In this paper, we used the most comprehensive database of sample plots available to build a set of multi-dimensional regression models that describe the proportion of different live biomass fractions (i.e., the stem, branches, foliage, roots) of forest stands as a function of average stand age, density (relative stocking) and site quality for forests of the major tree species of northern Eurasia. Bootstrapping was used to determine the accuracy of the estimates and also provides the associated uncertainties in these estimates. The species-specific mean percentage errors were then calculated between the sample plot data and the model estimates, resulting in overall relative errors in the regression model of −0.6%, −1.0% and 11.6% for biomass conversion and expansion factor (BCEF), biomass expansion factor (BEF), and root-to-shoot ratio respectively. The equations were then applied to data obtained from the Russian State Forest Register (SFR) and a map of forest cover to produce spatially distributed estimators of biomass conversion and expansion factors and root-to-shoot ratios for Russian forests. The equations and the resulting maps can be used to convert growing stock volume to the components of both above-ground and below-ground live biomass. The new live biomass conversion factors can be used in different applications, in particular to substitute those that are currently used by Russia in national reporting to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and the FAO FRA (Food and Agriculture Organization’s Forest Resource Assessment), among others.