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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Early Access

A structural allometric index for biomass estimation in five bamboo species

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.14938
Submitted
10 April 2026
Published
17-08-2026
Versions

Abstract

Empirical power-law biomass models often fail to account for the distinctive growth and biomechanical structure of giant grasses such as bamboo. Traditional models, including metabolic scaling theories, frequently exhibit high bias when applied to bamboo. Therefore, the theoretical framework needs to be revised for plants exhibiting sigmoidal growth patterns. A new deterministic algorithm that scales biomass based on the Euclidean norms of bamboo culm diameter and height is proposed, tested, validated and a five-fold cross-validation was performed. The new method is tested on a sample size of 150 using five bamboo species: Bambusa balcooa Roxb., Dendrocalamus brandisii (Munro) Kurz., Dendrocalamus giganteus Munro, Dendrocalamus strictus (Roxb.) Nees. and Guadua angustifolia Kunth. Predictive biomass equations have been developed for five bamboo species under this study. It was also proved that biomass is limited by the diagonal structural vector of the culm. The new theory, named the structural allometric index, outperformed existing standard models, achieving a near-zero bias (-0.03 %) and reducing the root mean square error (0.11). The methodology that provides a geometry-based solution for estimating bamboo biomass has not been previously reported in the literature. This finding is a practical application of geometry in biomass estimation and environmental research. Researchers can further validate it with new datasets and strengthen its reliability on different species and regions.

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