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Effect of Spacing on the Biomass Production and Allocation in
Conocarpus erectus L. Trees Grown in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Said S. Hegazy, Ibrahim M. Aref, Hamad Al-Mefarrej and Lotfy I. El-Juhany
Plant Production Department, College of Food Science & Agriculture, King Saud
University,
P. O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Abstract
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The main objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of
different spacing levels on the biomass production and allocation in
Conocarpus erectus trees grown in the arid environments of Saudi Arabia
and to develop allometric equations for predicting the total
above-ground biomass of these trees as well the biomass of each tree
component (main stem, branches and foliage). Seedlings were planted at
three different spacing (0.7, 1.4 and 2.1m). After three years, the main
stem dry biomass was 2.0, 3.26 and 5.56 kg tree-1 while branches biomass
was 1.28, 5.05 and 8.16 kg tree-1 and foliage biomass was 1.29, 3.62 and
7.18 kg tree-1 for spacing 0.7, 1.4 and 2.1m, respectively. The total
tree biomass was 4.57, 11.93 and 20.80 kg tree-1 for the same spacing,
respectively. Total biomass yield for tree components was calculated per
hectare and the highest yield was produced from the close spacing (0.7m)
which gave 40.8, 26.1 and 26.3 ton ha-1 for stem, branches and foliage,
respectively. The effect of spacing on the relative distribution of the
biomass components in the individual trees was also studied. The best
biomass prediction equations were developed based on the combined tree
parameters of square diameter at ground level multiplied by total tree
height (D2H) and the space area occupied by each tree (S).
Key words: Conocarpus erectus L., Button mangrove, spacing,
biomass production, biomass allocation, allometric equations
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