You are here:
ESTIMATES OF BIOMASS DENSITY FOR TROPICAL FORESTS
Citation:
Brown, S. AND G. Gaston. ESTIMATES OF BIOMASS DENSITY FOR TROPICAL FORESTS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/A-95/106 (NTIS PB95263653).
Description:
An accurate estimation of the biomass density in forests is a necessary step in understanding the global carbon cycle and production of other atmospheric trace gases from biomass burning. n this paper the authors summarize the various approaches that have developed for estimating aboveground biomass density of tropical forests relying for the most part on forest inventory data and modeling in a geographic information system (GIS). iomass density estimates from forest inventory data range from about 50 to >550 Mg ha1 in tropical Asia and America and from about 25 to 380 Mg ha1 in tropical Africa. his range of values for all regions reflects differences in climate and intensity of human disturbances. o capture the spatial distribution of biomass density, we have developed a GIS model of the biophysical parameters that influence the distribution of biomass density. his model was combined with forest inventory and human population density data to produce a spatially explicit estimation of biomass density both under natural conditions and with the influence of human activity. hese estimates are more representative of the landscape as a whole and are better suited to regional or global analysis. o date, this approach has been applied to the tropical regions of Africa and Asia.