Biomass Expansion Factors for Pinus koraiensis Forests in Korea

Abstract

Biomass expansion factors that convert the timber volume (or dry weight) to biomass are used to estimate the forest biomass and account for the carbon budget on a national and regional scale. This study estimated the biomass conversion and expansion factors (BCEF), root to shoot ratio (R), biomass expansion factors (BEF) and ecosystem biomass expansion factor (EBEF) of Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) forests based on direct field surveys and publications in Korea. The mean BCEF, BEF, and R was 0.6438 Mg m−3 (n = 7, SD = 0.1286), 1.6380 (n = 27, SD = 0.1830), and 0.2653 (n = 14, SD = 0.0698), respectively. The mean EBEF, which is a simple method for estimating the understory biomass in Korean pine forest ecosystems, was 1.0218 (n = 6, SD = 0.0090). The values of the biomass expansion factors in this study estimated the Korean pine forest biomass with more precision than the default values given by the IPCC (2003, 2006).