Aboveground biomass and nitrogen allocation of ten deciduous southern Appalachian tree species

Allometric equations were developed for mature trees of 10 deciduous specie s (Acer rubrum L., Betula lenta L., Carya spp., Cornus florida L., Lirioden dron tulipifera L.,Oxydendrum arboreum (L.) DC., Qeurcus alba L., Quercus c occinea Muenchh., Quercus prinus L., and Quercus rubra L.) at the Coweeta H ydrologic Laboratory in western North Carolina, U.S.A. These equations incl uded the following dependent variables: stem wood mass, stem bark mass, bra nch mass, total wood mass, foliage mass, total biomass, foliage area, stem surface area, sapwood volume, and total tree volume. High correlation coeff icients (R-2) were observed for all variables versus stem diameter, with th e highest being for total tree biomass, which ranged from 0.981 for Oxydend rum arboreum to 0.999 for Quercus coccinea. Foliage area had the lowest R-2 values, ranging from 0.555 for Quercus alba to 0.962 for Betula lenta. Whe n all species were combined, correlation coefficients ranged from 0.822 for foliage area to 0.986 for total wood mass, total tree biomass, and total t ree volume. Species with ring versus diffuse/semiring porous wood anatomy e xhibited higher leaf area with a given cross-sectional sapwood area as well as lower total sapwood volume. Liriodendron tulipifera contained one of th e highest foliar nitrogen concentrations and had consistently low branch, b ark, sapwood, and heartwood nitrogen contents. For a tree diameter of 50 cm , Carya spp, exhibited the highest total nitrogen content whereas Liriodend ron tulipifera exhibited the lowest.