Leaf Area and Biomass Estimation of Swietenia Mahagoni in Bangladesh

Leaf area and biomass estimation has important influence on the exchange of energy, light interception, carbon cycling, plant growth and productivity. The objective of this study was to develop allometric relationships for estimating leaf area (LA) and foliar biomass (FB) of Swietenia mahagoni L. from different tree parameters such as DBH and tree height of mahogany plantations in Bangladesh. A total of eight hundred fifty healthy and well formed trees were selected randomly for sampling in the five study sites. Then, we evaluate several models and based on different statistical criteria for allometric relationships, we propose reliable and accurate models for estimating the LA and FB. The results exposed that Model IV and XV were selected on a single predictor of DBH and showed more statistically accuracy and validity than other models. Thus, we expect these allometric models to predict LA and FB to prove valuable in future research.

Niamjit Das have worked on some research projects and published several research articles as well as he has completed his BSc & MSc in Forestry from the SUST, Bangladesh. Chandan Kumar Mahapatra is working as an Upazila Agriculture Officer at Department of Agriculture Extension under the Ministry of Agriculture, the People's Republic of Bangladesh.