Annual Weight Performance of Woody and Thorny Species
NRI production protocol Species Composition by Weight (chapter 14) for woody plants at the expanded plots is best done by using a weight unit collected in the field from outside the quadrat and counting the number of equivalent weight units contained on each of the woody species within the expanded quadrat. However, this is not always possible due to size or other variations. In those instances, use the following guide.
The weight per plant-unit tables are listed by common name and species symbol. The weight units are variable in measurements, e.g. canopy and height in inches and feet. All weights are in grams and are air dry weights. Enter these weights into the CASI as the green weight and reconstruct the dry weight as 100% unless otherwise noted.
The guide also lists several species’ leaf retention time ranges. Use this for when representative weight units are collected in the field. Divide the leaf only portion of the representative weight unit by the number of years of leaf retention identified for each species.