Validation of a biomass based model for assessing forest ecosystem services: a case study of Feofania Park

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bstract

The study presents estimates of the dynamics of the urban forest stand ecosystem services in Feofania Park, based on forest live biomass assessment models and data from forest management planning. The study aimed to compare the model approach for forest live biomass assessment with permanent sample plot data and to investigate the possibility of forest ecosystem service assessment based on forest biomass models. The fieldwork was conducted on four permanent sample plots in urban forests, established in 2016 and 2017. The age range of the research stands from 80 to 180 years. Each sample plot determined the species composition of forest stands and the status of trees by measuring and surveying in kind, with a division into live and dead biomass. The peculiarities of the redistribution of trees by vitality status in 2023 changed to some extent due to an increase in the number of dead trees (snags). It has been established that the highest current increment of live biomass is observed on the permanent sample plot with a structurally complex stand, featuring 180–190-year-old oak trees in the first canopy layer. For each permanent sample plot, a comparison of biomass indicators for the tree stand was made using fieldwork and model-based data. The relative deviation in the overall estimate of forest live biomass using the model approach ranged from -39% to -2% when comparing estimates from permanent sample plots collected during fieldwork from 2016 (2017) to 2023. This suggests the potential applicability of using a model to estimate the biomass of each urban forest plot in the park. The assessment of the biomass of the park's forest stands served as the basis for calculating the volumes of carbon storage, produced oxygen, and accumulated energy.