Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Wood Specific Gravity of Trees in Hot Semi-Arid Zone of India:Diversity among Species and Relationship between Stem and Branches


Affiliations
1 ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Pali-306 401, India
2 ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur-342 003, India
 

Wood specific gravity (WSG) is an important parameter in allometric equations for accurate estimation of C-sequestration and other functional properties of a tree. However, WSG of many tree species especially of arid and semi-arid regions is poorly reported. Further, identifying indirect methods for determination of stem WSG from branches may be rapid and relatively easy. The present study determined WSG of stem and branches of 21 tree species in the hot semi-arid region of Western India. Three individual trees from each species were randomly selected and sampled for determination of WSG of stem, primary and secondary branch. WSG varied significantly among the species (F = 42.83, P < 0.001) and sampling locations (stem and branches) (F = 29.43, P < 0.001). In stem (at DBH), it ranged from 0.42 ± 0.04 to 0.74 ± 0.03 among the species while within an individual tree it varied in order of stem > primary branch > secondary branch in most species. WSG of stem and branches showed linear relationship and branches were found a good predictor of stem WSG (R2 > 0.83).

Keywords

Arid Region, Branch, Tree Biomass, Wood Specific Gravity.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • IPCC, Summary for Policymakers. In Climate Change 2014, Mitigation of Climate Change, Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, USA, 2014.
  • Chave, J. et al., Improved allometric models to estimate the aboveground biomass of tropical trees. Glo. Chang. Biol., 2014, 20, 3177–3190.
  • Elias, M. and Potvin, C., Assessing inter and intraspecific variation in trunk carbon concentration for 32 neotropical tree species. Can. J. Forest. Res., 2003, 33(6), 1039–1045.
  • Mangalassery, S., Dayal, D., Meena, S. L. and Ram, B., Carbon sequestration in agroforestry and pasture systems in arid northwestern India. Curr. Sci., 2014, 107(8), 1290–1293.
  • Muller-Landau, H., Interspecific and inter-site variation in wood specific gravity of tropical trees. Biotropica, 2004, 36, 20–32.
  • Fortunel, C., Ruelle, J., Beauchene, J., Fine, P. V. A. and Christopher Baraloto, Wood specific gravity and anatomy of branches and ischolar_mains in 113 Amazonian rainforest tree species across environmental gradients. New Phytol., 2014, 202, 79–94.
  • Swenson, N. G. and Enquist, B. J., The relationship between stem and branch wood specific gravity and the ability of each measure to predict leaf area. Am. J. Bot., 2008, 95(4), 516–519.
  • Henry, M. et al., Wood density, phytomass variations within and among trees, and allometric equations in a tropical rainforest of Africa. Forest Ecol. Manag., 2010, 260, 1375–1388.
  • Zhou, X., Brandle, J. R., Awada, T. N., Schoeneberger, M. M., Martin, D. L., Xin, Y. and Tang, Z., The use of forest-derived specific gravity for the conversion of volume to biomass for opengrown trees on agricultural land. Biomass Bioenergy, 2011, 35, 1721–1731.
  • Cornelissen, J. H. C. et al., A handbook of protocols standardisation and easy measurement of plant functional traits worldwide. Aust. J. Bot., 2003, 51, 335–380.
  • Williamson, G. B. and Wiemann, M. C., Measuring wood specific gravity … correctly. Am. J. Bot., 2010, 97(3), 519–524.
  • Navarro, M., Moya, R., Chazdon, R., Ortiz, E. and Vilchez, B., Successional variation in carbon content and wood specific gravity of four tropical tree species. Bosque, 2013, 34(1), 33–43.
  • Yeboah, D., Burton, W. J., Storer, A. J. and Opuni-Frimpong, E., Variation in wood density and carbon content of tropical plantation tree species from Ghana. New Forest., 2014, 45, 35–52.
  • Sheikh, M. A., Kumar, M. and Bhat, J. A., Wood specific gravity of some tree species in the Garhwal Himalayas, India. For. Stud. China, 2011, 13(3), 225–230.
  • Osuri, A. M., Kumar, V. S. and Sankaran, M., Altered stand structure and tree allometry reduce carbon storage in evergreen forest fragments in India’s Western Ghats. Forest Ecol. Manag., 2014, 329, 375–383.
  • Espinoza, J. A., Within-tree density gradients in Gmelina arborea in Venezuela. New Forest., 2004, 28, 309–317.

Abstract Views: 260

PDF Views: 78




  • Wood Specific Gravity of Trees in Hot Semi-Arid Zone of India:Diversity among Species and Relationship between Stem and Branches

Abstract Views: 260  |  PDF Views: 78

Authors

Dipak Kumar Gupta
ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Pali-306 401, India
R. K. Bhatt
ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur-342 003, India
A. Keerthika
ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Pali-306 401, India
A. K. Shukla
ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Pali-306 401, India
M. B. Noor Mohamed
ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Pali-306 401, India
B. L. Jangid
ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Pali-306 401, India

Abstract


Wood specific gravity (WSG) is an important parameter in allometric equations for accurate estimation of C-sequestration and other functional properties of a tree. However, WSG of many tree species especially of arid and semi-arid regions is poorly reported. Further, identifying indirect methods for determination of stem WSG from branches may be rapid and relatively easy. The present study determined WSG of stem and branches of 21 tree species in the hot semi-arid region of Western India. Three individual trees from each species were randomly selected and sampled for determination of WSG of stem, primary and secondary branch. WSG varied significantly among the species (F = 42.83, P < 0.001) and sampling locations (stem and branches) (F = 29.43, P < 0.001). In stem (at DBH), it ranged from 0.42 ± 0.04 to 0.74 ± 0.03 among the species while within an individual tree it varied in order of stem > primary branch > secondary branch in most species. WSG of stem and branches showed linear relationship and branches were found a good predictor of stem WSG (R2 > 0.83).

Keywords


Arid Region, Branch, Tree Biomass, Wood Specific Gravity.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv113%2Fi08%2F1597-1600