Adapting a Quercus robur allometric equation to quantify carbon sequestration rates on the Middle Elbe floodplain

Destructively sampling old Pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) trees on the active floodplain of the Middle Elbe to create an allometric equation to estimate carbon stocks (CS) and carbon sequestration rates (CSR) would defeat the purpose of protecting increasingly vulnerable and threatened primeval floodplain forests. To nondestructively estimate CS and CSR, we have adapted a two-parameter allometric equation which uses tree height (H) and diameter at breast height (DBH) (Dik 1984, Zianis et al. 2005) into a 1-parameter equation that requires only DBH to quantify stocks and annual changes in carbon stock (carbon sequestration rates) for individual Q. robur trees. The equations have also been adapted to estimate below- and above-ground carbon stocks of individual trees. The new method has: • Adapted a 2-parameter Quercus robur allometric equation which estimates tree volume to a 1-parameter equation which estimates above and below-ground carbon stock; • Removed the requirement of tree height to reconstruct the carbon stock of trees at an annual timestep; • An almost perfect linear relationship (Pearson R(2)= 0.998) between carbon sequestration rate and basal area increment (BAI).