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Science 23 March 1984:
Vol. 223. no. 4642, pp. 1290 - 1293
DOI: 10.1126/science.223.4642.1290
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Articles

Biomass of Tropical Forests: A New Estimate Based on Forest Volumes

SANDRA BROWN 1 and ARIEL E. LUGO 2

1 Department of Forestry, University of Illinois, Urbana 61801
2 Institute of Tropical Forestry, Southern Forest Experiment Station, Post Office Box AQ, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico 00928

Recent assessments of areas of different tropical forest types and their corresponding stand volumes were used to calculate the biomass densities and total biomass of tropical forests. Total biomass was estimated at 205 x 109 tons, and weighted biomass densities for undisturbed closed and open broadleaf forests were 176 and 61 tons per hectare, respectively. These values are considerably lower than those previously reported and raise questions about the role of the terrestrial biota in the global carbon budget.

Submitted on September 12, 1983
Accepted on January 4, 1984


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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