FORMULATING AN EQUATION FOR CAMEROON TIMBER BETWEEN TREE DIAMETER AND THE TOTAL TIMBER VOLUME OF TREES

Abstract

The REDD mechanism (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) is of interest to the Congo Basin countries, but they have few precise data on their forest carbon stocks. The parameters for the main pan-tropical allometric equations are tree height and diameter and specific timber density, but none of the trees measured are from African forests. The few equations established for Africa turn out to be insufficient, in particular because large trees are not sufficiently represented in the samples measured. To address this data deficit, we measured 55 trees with a diameter of 10 to 120 cm, from 23 different species in a dense semi-deciduous forest in south-eastern Cameroon. After felling, the logs were cross-cut and measured until the one centimetre in diameter cutting. The sample was used to link the diameter and total timber volume of the trees via polynomial non-linear models (addition and multiplication). Then tree biomass should be deduced by applying the specific density and a correction factor for foliage. In order to refine these measurements, the sample will be enlarged during a further measurement campaign to produce a closer estimation of the total volume of huge trees.