Aboveground biomass in seven tropical forest patches of Western-Africa: comparison of manual inventory and terrestrial laser scanning

Research paper

Key message

Aboveground biomass (AGB) increased from forest edge to forest interior in small forest patches of Western-Africa. In plots of 0.25 ha, AGB did not correlate with tree species richness or wood density. AGB in these unprotected forest patches was lower than in the nearby protected forests. AGB obtained from manual inventory and terrestrial laser scanning correlated moderately.

Keywords
Allometric equation; Automatic point-cloud segmentation; Edge effects; Forest fragmentation; Tree species richness; Wood density

Publication
Hepner, S., Agonvonon, G.A., Kükenbrink, D. et al. Aboveground biomass in seven tropical forest patches of Western-Africa: comparison of manual inventory and terrestrial laser scanning. Annals of Forest Science 83, 20 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13595-026-01329-7

Data availability 
All plot- and subplot-level data generated in this study (AGB) are archived and openly available (Hepner et al. 2026). Related metrics on SSCI and tree species composition are archived under Hepner et al. (2025b) and Ifejika Speranza and Agonvonon (2024), respectively.

Handling editor
Erwin Dreyer