Differential Above- and Below-ground Biomass Accumulation of European Pinus sylvestris Populations in a 12-year-old Provenance Experiment

Growth and the distribution of biomass among above- and below-ground components were measured in 12-yr-old Scots pine (Pinus syluestris L.) from 19 populations grown in a provenance experiment in central Poland (52°N). The populations originated from the northern ( > 55°N in Russia, Sweden and Latvia), central (54–47°N in Poland, Germany, Belgium, France, Slovakia, Hungary), and southern ( < 45°N in Bosnia, Montenegro and Turkey) European range of Scots pine. Height, diameter and biomass were all significantly related to latitude of origin. For populations of northern, central and southern origin, above-ground biomass averaged 3.1, 4.7 and 3.3 kg tree⁻¹ and 25, 43 and 12 Mg ha⁻¹. Total root biomass accounted for 22, 19 and 28% of total stand biomass for northern, central and southern populations, respectively. These differences were primarily the result of proportionally higher fine root biomass in the slower-growing northern and southern than central populations. Because the allometric regression equations based on diameter for total above-ground and coarse root biomass did not differ among populations or regions, biomass of Scots pine, excluding fine roots, may be accurately estimated from forest inventory data.