Abstract
Allometric scaling laws critically examine structure–function relationships. In estimating the forest biomass carbon and its response under climate change, the issue of scaling has resulted in difficulties when modelling the biomass for different-sized trees, especially large ones, and has not yet been solved in either theory or practice. Here, we propose the concept of a dynamic allometric scaling relationship between stem biomass and above-ground biomass The allometric curve approaches an asymptote with an increase in tree size. An asymptotic allometric equation is presented that has a better fit to the data than the simple power-law allometric equation. The non-constant exponent is determined by the change in the biomass ratio for different organs and is governed by the dynamic allometric coefficient. This study presents a methodological framework to theoretically characterize allometric relationships and provides new insights in understanding the general scaling pattern and carbon sequestration capacity of large trees across global forests.
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Data availability
The dataset of tree biomass measurements used here is available in the Supplementary Information.
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported financially by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41901117), the Outstanding Youth Project of Hunan Provincial Education Department (18B001) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant.
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X.Z. and C.P. conceived of the study idea. X.Z. led and carried out all of the analyses, derived models and predictions with input from C.P., M.Y., Z.L., P.L. and B.X. M.Y. analysed the data. X.Z., M.Y. and C.P. wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors interpreted the results, revised the text and provided critical feedback.
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Zhou, X., Yang, M., Liu, Z. et al. Dynamic allometric scaling of tree biomass and size. Nat. Plants 7, 42–49 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-020-00815-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-020-00815-8
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