The inadequacy of current carbon storage assessment methods for rewilding: A Knepp Estate case study

In the context of global climate change mitigation, carbon storage in woody vegetation plays a crucial role. Recognising the value of the i-Tree Eco model for carbon storage in urban and forestry settings, this study aimed to explore its applicability to rewilded landscapes. Using direct measurements from destructively sampled scrub from the Knepp Estate, our goal was to determine the model’s suitability to this landscape.
Our findings reveal that these methods are not appropriate for multi-stemmed trees below browsing height, as we observed no significant relationship between stem basal diameter and height. The i-Tree tool's assumption of belowground biomass being 26% of aboveground biomass may not be applicable to herbivore-influenced landscapes. Additionally, we found that on average, scrub at Knepp had more biomass below the ground than above, with a root:shoot ratio of 1.07, which is more than 4 times the amount predicted by current models using the 0.26 estimate ratio.
This study..., , , # **The Inadequacy of Current Carbon Storage Assessment Methods for Rewilding: A Knepp Estate Case Study**

**Brief Summary of Dataset Contents:**

The dataset from the study conducted at Knepp Estate primarily involves direct measurements of scrubland vegetation, focusing on evaluating the i-Tree Eco model's applicability to rewilded landscapes. The study's findings revealed limitations of current methods in estimating carbon storage for multi-stemmed trees in herbivore-influenced landscapes, suggesting the need for novel allometric approaches. The data has been split into two datasets, here's a brief overview of each:

**Data Set 1: Total_Opwall_Adj Dbh_Feb23**

* **Purpose**: Utilises an allometric model by iTree Eco to assess tree biomass at the Knepp Wildland project.
* **Data Collected**: Includes species, scientific name, height (in meters), diameter at breast height (DBH) (in centimeters), number of stems, and presence of species-specific allometric equations.
* **Column...