Model errors in tree biomass estimates computed with an approximation to a missing covariance matrix

摘要

BackgroundBiomass and carbon estimation has become a priority in national and regional forest inventories. Biomass of individual trees is estimated using biomass equations. A covariance matrix for the parameters in a biomass equation is needed for the computation of an estimate of the model error in a tree level estimate of biomass. Unfortunately, many biomass equations do not provide key statistics for a direct estimation of model errors. This study proposes three new procedures for recovering missing statistics from available estimates of a coefficient of determination and sample size. They are complementary to a recently published study using a computationally intensive Monte Carlo approach.