Map-Making of Plant Biomass and Leaf Area Index for Management of Protected Areas

Abstract

An invento r y of the vegetat ion types of Castelporziano Estate (Ro me). including examples of Med-iterranean ecosystems in e xce lle nt preserved condition. was co mpiled. Because Leaf Area Index (LA!) changed with forest struc ture and developmental stages. maximum LA! pro vided a good estimate of maximum biomass accumulation. Plant biomass estimation. ranging from 61 tons ha-' to 360 tons ha" , filled well into 14 biomass cl asses; the highest values (from 301 ton s ha-I to 360 tons ha ") were related to stratified forested vegetation types. including the more mature Pinus pin ea plantations. Quer cus ilex evergreen forests and broad leaf mixed forests. LA! ranged from 0 .5 to 4 .5, and changed with fore st structure. increasing with the increase of plant biomass. Leaf area index measurements filled well into nine LA! classes. and the highest values were related to the stratified veg eta tion types. Biomass and LA! maps might be employed as a computerised mapped information sys te m for natural res ource policy. reg ional planning. and landscape man agement. Long-term monitoring may easily be achieved by LA! measurements whi ch can be convened to biomass values by the identified relationship between plant biomass and LA!. Key words: LA!. landscape man agement. map-making. plant biomass.