Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

ALLOMETRIC EQUATIONS FOR EVALUATING ABOVE-GROUNDBIOMASS AND CARBON STORAGE CAPABILITY OF INDIANBAMBOOS: REVIEW APPROACH

Neha Devi, Ajay Thakur and Hukum Singh

Abstract

Above ground biomass is the core component of forests and it is known as indirect indicators of carbonstorage capacity. The allometric equations help to estimate biomass without felling of trees and are primarilya non-destructive approach to estimate biomass and carbon. Biomass estimation of Bamboo forests canprovide information about culm and clump maturity, primary productivity, carbon storage and cycling inthe forest ecosystem. For accurate and non-destructive assessment of carbon storage and biomass energyvalues, it is essential to employ the appropriate tree biomass allometric equations. For estimating bamboobiomass, the allometric scaling principles have not been thoroughly investigated. Bamboos aremonocotyledonous, hence using models created to estimate dicotyledonous plants’ biomass is likely toresult in inaccurate results. Height (H) is a key indicator of forest production and demographics.As a result,H-D models are frequently employed to forecast the heights that are lacking from diameter fieldmeasurements. Compared to woody dicots, information on H-D correlations for woody monocots, such asbamboos, is sometimes limited. Allometric equations are site and species-specific and thus the selection ofequation is important to have a reliable estimate of biomass and carbon. Therefore, for bamboos, thedevelopment of age-specific and species-specific equations are strongly recommended for accurate biomassestimation. The present reviews various bamboo species allometric equations developed in several studiesto assess above ground biomass and carbon storage potential in the bamboos of India.