Above-ground and below-ground biomass allocation in important fuelwood trees from arid north-western India

Above-ground and below-ground biomass and its allocation pattern in 6-year-old trees of nine species, Acacia catechu, A. nilotica subsp. indica, Albizia lebbeck, Azadirachta indica, Dalbergia sissoo, Melia azedarach, Morus alba, Prosopis cineraria and Ziziphus mauritiana from arid north-western India were studied. The above-ground biomass (kg/tree) varied from 11•6 in Z. mauritiana to 37•5 in Melia azedarach. Maximum biomass (39-65%) was allocated to the boles and a lesser amount to the branches (22-40%) and roots (9-29%). Root biomass (kg/tree) ranged from 2•2 in A. catechu to 8•7 in Albizia lebbeck. Net primary production was from 0•98 to 9•33 kg/tree/year across the species