Direct Methods to Determine Biomass
Biomass sampling is usually conducted using a sample unit with defined boundaries, for example some type of quadrat, so that biomass can be expressed relative to a known area. With these techniques, the quadrats are directly evaluated to assess biomass. This type of sampling is best suited to areas dominated by herbaceous or shorter shrub species, that can be accommodated in relatively small quadrats.
The most common direct methods of determining biomass are:
- Harvesting to Determine Biomass
- Estimation Approaches to Determine Biomass
- Sample Units for Direct Methods to Determine Biomass
References and Further Reading
(Note: pdf files require Adobe Acrobat (free) to view)
Bonham, C.D. 1989. Measurements of terrestrial vegetation. John Wiley Sons, New York, NY. pp 33-39.
Cook, C.W., and J. Stubbendieck. (eds). 1986. Range research: Basic problems and techniques. Society for Range Management, Denver, CO. pp 52-56.
Pieper, R.D. 1988. Rangeland vegetation productivity and biomass. In: P.T. Tueller. (ed). Vegetation science applications for rangeland analysis and management. Handbook of Vegetation Science, Volume 14. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht. pp 449-460.
White, G.C. 1978. Estimation of plant biomass from quadrat data using the lognormal distribution. Journal of Range Management 31:118-120. (pdf)