The heating values of wood, inner and outer bark, and foliage components of seven small-size tree species (Pinus sylvestris L., Picea abies (L.) H. Karst., Betula pubescens Erhr., B. pendula Roth, Alnus incana (L.) Moench, A. glutinosa (L.) Gaertn., Populus tremula L.) were studied. Significant differences were found between species within each component. However, the differences between species for weighted stem, crown and whole-tree biomass are very small. The weighted heating value of the crown mass is slightly higher than that of the stem in all species. The heating value of stem, crown and whole-tree material was found to increase with increasing latitude.
The effective heating value of wood correlated best with the lignin content, inner bark with carbohydrate, and outer bark with carbohydrates and the extractives soluble in alkalic solvents. It is suggested that the determination of the heating value might be used as an indicator of the cellulose content of coniferous wood.
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We developed tree level biomass (dry weight) models for Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] H. Karst.), silver birch (Betula pendula Roth), rowan (Sorbus aucuparia L.) and aspen (Populus tremula L.) growing in young spruce dominated seedling stands with high mixture of broadleaves. The study material was collected from three planted Norway spruce seedling stands located on mineral soil in southern Finland. Biomass models were estimated by individual tree component (stem, living branches, foliage, stump, and roots with diameter of 2 mm) by using a multi-response approach (seemingly unrelated regression), which estimated the parameters of the sub-models (tree component) simultaneously. Even though the application and generalization of the developed models can be restricted by the limited material, they provide new information of seedling biomass allocation and more reliable biomass predictions for spruce and birch growing in young seedling stand compared with those of the commonly applied biomass models (Repola 2008, 2009) in Finland. Repola’s models (2008, 2009) tended to produce biased predictions for crown and below-ground biomasses of seedlings by allocating too much biomass to roots and too little to needle and branches. In addition, this study provides biomass models for aspen and rowan, which were not previously available.