Burrell et al. (2026): Rewilded scrubland as a carbon sink: allometric models to improve biomass estimation under herbivory
Nancy C Burrell, Marc Macias-Fauria, Elizabeth Jeffers and Katherine J Willis, IN: Environmental Research Letters, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ae83cc
Scrubland ecosystems are increasingly recognised for their biodiversity value and resilience to climatic stress, but their contribution to carbon sequestration remains poorly quantified, particularly in temperate rewilded landscapes. Existing carbon accounting approaches, developed mainly for closed‐canopy forests and agroforestry systems, do not reflect the structural complexity or biomass allocation patterns of scrub, where species commonly form multi‐stemmed stands and invest heavily in belowground biomass (BGB) under herbivory. Using destructive sampling of 290 individuals from five dominant scrub taxa at the rewilded Knepp Estate (UK), the authors developed taxon‐specific allometric equations incorporating height, canopy area, basal stem diameter and browsing intensity.