Timber Volume and Aboveground Live Tree Biomass Estimations for Landscapes Analyses for the Pacific Northwest

Timber availability, aboveground tree biomass, and changes in aboveground carbon pools are important consequences of landscape management. There are several models available for calculating tree volume and aboveground tree biomass pools. This paper documents species-specific regional equations for tree volume and aboveground live tree biomass estimation that might be used to examine consequences of midscale landscape management in the Pacific Northwest. These regional equations were applied to a landscape in the upper Deschutes study area in central Oregon. We demonstrate an analysis of the changes in aboveground tree biomass and wood product availability at the scale of several watersheds on general forest lands under an active fuel-treatment management scenario. Our approach lays a foundation for further landscape management analysis, such as financial analysis of timber product and biomass supply, forest carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat suitability, and fuel reduction related studies.