A non-destructive methodology for estimating leaf biomass in Morus alba and Platanus hispanica in the urban area of central-western Argentina

Most allometric equations to estimate tree biomass have been established in a forest context. However, trees living in an urban environment and trees living in a forest one are confronted with very different constraints that have consequences, among others, on their morphology. It is thus necessary to establish specific allometric equations to estimate the biomass of urban trees. We here explore morphological parameters from two species of trees (Morus alba L. and Platanus hispanica Mill. ex Münchh.), located in an arid urban environment in central-western Argentina, to develop a non-destructive methodology for estimating leaf biomass. Our results show that, for the studied urban trees, crown parameters are better estimators than the diameter at breast height, and allowed us to propose allometric equations using crown height for estimating their leaf biomass. Fil: Vento, Barbara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; Argentina Fil: Moreno, Gabriela Analia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas; Argentina