Abstract:

Based on data from the continuous forest inventories (CFI) in 1994， 1999 and 2004， the forest biomass and the net primary production (NPP) of Zhejiang Province was estimated with the variable biomass expansion factor function (variable BEFF) method that is derived from the relationship between biomass and volume. The results showed that the total forest biomass of Zhejiang Province was 1.496×10¹， 1.615×10¹， and 2.244×10¹ t in 1994， 1999 and 2004， respectively. The average NPP of forest stands was 1.557 and 2.060 t·hm^-2a^-1 from 1994 to 1999 and from 1999 to 2004， respectively. The provincial forest resources was thus characterized with increasing total forest biomass and relatively low quality. The biomass and the NPP of forest stands per hectare were much lower than that of the nationwide averages. The results also demonstrated that the variable BEFF method is applicable for estimating forest biomass and NPP at regional level， but may lead to overestimation of forest biomass when volume stock per hectare is very low.

Key words: continuous forest inventory, biomass, net primary production, growing stock, variable biomass expansion factor function (variable BEFF), Zhejiang Province