Above-ground biomass of Pinus radiata in South Gippsland, Victoria.  H. T. L. Stewart and D. W. Flinn.  May 1981.  18 pp.  (unpubl.)

SUMMARY

The above-ground biomass of a 15-year-o1d Pinus radiata D.Don (radiata pine) stand growing on a bleached sand at Dutson Downs in South Gippsland was estimated from regression analyses of measurements of the components of ten trees, which were representative of the range of diameters present. The biomass of the stand, which had a stocking of 1068 trees per hectare, was estimated to be 16.22 ± 0.51 kg m^-2. Proportions of each tree component in the biomass were estimated as stemwood 67.0%, stem bark 8.6%, branchwood 13.9%, foliage 6.8% and cones 3.7%. These proportions compared favourably with those found for similar-aged P. radiata stands in other localities.

The above-ground biomass of the stand at Dutson Downs appeared to be similar to that of a 12-year-old P. radiata stand at Tumut in New South Wales, but was considerably less than that estimated in an 18-year-old stand of P. radiata in New Zealand. The high productivity of this latter stand is attributed to more fertile soils and to plentiful, evenly distributed precipitation. Estimates of the weight of foliage in the stand studied and in studies in N.S.W. and New Zealand suggest that the accumulation and shedding of foliage is in equilibrium in P. radiata stands aged between 10 and 18 years, and that the weight of foliage in these stands (about 1.0 kg m^-2) is independent of site index for moderate to highly productive stands.