Strumenti dendrometrico-inventariali per la stima della fitomassa epigea nella lecceta mediterranea

The Kyoto Protocol highlights the importance of forests in carbon dioxide sequestration: in this context, the IPCC has outlined a methodology for estimating the "carbon budget" of the forest, based on techniques commonly used in forest inventories. This work presents the results of a study carried out in Sardinia, with the aim of identifying appropriate instruments for the assessment of the Mediterranean holm oak forests contribution to the fixed carbon stock. The review of the methodologies currently available for the estimation of the aboveground biomass of Mediterranean forests evidenced that the knowledge on carbon budget estimation for this kind of ecosystem is rather limited. The research performed, in collaboration with the Sardinia regional Sustainable Development Service project ForEnCarb.UniSS.it, is based on the collection of experimental data related to the Mediterranean holm oak forest of Seneghe, (central Sardinia). Applying a stratified sampling design, 47 trees have been selected among the larger stems in the forest (larger than 17.5 cm dbh), and various (traditional and innovative) dendrometric measurements have conducted. The dataset was used to compare and verify the allometric equation models developed for southern Italy stands. Since the comparison gave unsatisfactory results, and the obtained dendrometic models were limited, a direct determination of the aboveground biomass was performed. This work provides new tools for the quantification of holm oak aboveground biomass based on statistical data analysis and suggests non-conventional approaches in forest mensuration.