Relative Humidity, Soil Phosphorus, and Stand Structure Diversity Determine Aboveground Biomass along the Elevation Gradient in Various Forest Ecosystems of Pakistan

Shahab Ali, Shujaul Mulk Khan (), Zeeshan Ahmad, Abdullah Abdullah, Naeemullah Kazi, Ismat Nawaz, Khalid F. Almutairi, Graciela Dolores Avila-Quezada and Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah
Additional contact information
Shahab Ali: Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan
Shujaul Mulk Khan: Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan
Zeeshan Ahmad: Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan
Abdullah Abdullah: Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan
Naeemullah Kazi: Sindh Wildlife Department, Karachi 76090, Pakistan
Ismat Nawaz: Department of Biosciences, Islamabad Campus, COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad 45550, Pakistan
Khalid F. Almutairi: Plant Production Department, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Graciela Dolores Avila-Quezada: Facultad de Ciencias Agrotecnológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Chihuahua 31350, Mexico
Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah: Plant Production Department, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 9, 1-16

Abstract: The direct effects of relative humidity and soil on aboveground biomass (AGB) versus the indirect effects mediated by stand structural diversity remain unclear in forest ecosystems across large-scale elevation gradients. Forest inventory data containing 15,260 individual trees and 104 tree species from 200 forest plots were collected. The result shows that the relative humidity, elevation, and Coefficient of Variation of Diameter at breast height (CVD) significantly influence AGB in the Tropical Thorn Forest (TTF). Regarding elevation, CVD was positive and significant, and relative humidity and SR negatively impacted AGB in sub-tropical broad-leaved forests (STBLF). In moist temperate mixed forests (MTMF), soil phosphorus and CVD have a significant positive impact, while relative humidity, elevation, and SR negatively influence AGB. Elevation and CVD have positive, while SR and soil phosphorus have a negative and insignificant effect on AGB in Dry Temperate Conifer Forests (DTCF). Soil phosphorus and relative humidity positively affected AGB (β = 0.021), while elevation, CVD, and SR negatively affect AGB in dry temperate, pure pine forests (DTPPF). Relative humidity and soil phosphorus have a positive direct effect on AGB in multi-species forests. The current study suggests that AGB primarily depends on relative humidity, soil phosphorus, and elevation in different forest types.

Keywords: forest inventory; environmental factors; stand structure complexity; regional scale; structural equation modeling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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