NEEDLE BIOMASS EQUATIONS FOR SINGLELEAF-PINYON ON THE VIRGINIA RANGE,NEVADA

Foliar biomass of singleleaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla Torr. & Frem.) w as estimated on the Virginia Mountains, Nevada, based on the easily me asured dimensions of crown volume and sapwood area. Leaf biomass estim ation techniques used in other studies of pinyon where total leaf biom ass was collected were supported. Both sapwood area (cm2) and crown vo lume, calculated as one-half of an ellipsoid (m3), were found to be si gnificantly related to total dry weight needle mass (g). Best predicti ve equations for crown volume were obtained with nonlinear regression analysis. A previously reported two-part relationship based on tree si ze for predicting needle biomass with sapwood area was supported. Foli ar biomass of singleleaf pinyon can be accurately estimated with a min imum of 10 sapwood cores.