ACTA AMAZONICA http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1809-4392201801642 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Allometric models to estimate tree height in northern Amazonian ecotone forests Reinaldo Imbrozio BARBOSA1*, Perla Natalia RAMÍREZ-NARVÁEZ2, Philip Martin FEARNSIDE3, Carlos Darwin Angulo VILLACORTA2, Lidiany Camila da Silva CARVALHO2,4 1 Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Coordenação de Dinâmica Ambiental (CODAM), Núcleo de Pesquisas de Roraima (NPRR), Rua Coronel Pinto 315 – Centro, 69301-150 Boa Vista, Roraima, Brasil. 2 Universidade Federal de Roraima (UFRR), Programa de Pós-graduação em Recursos Naturais (PRONAT), Av. Cap. Ene Garcez 2413 - Bairro Aeroporto, 69304-000 Boa Vista, Roraima, Brasil. 3 Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Coordenação de Dinâmica Ambiental (CODAM), Av. André Araújo 2936, 69 067-375 Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil. 4 University of Exeter, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, Devon, UK, EX4 4SB * Corresponding author:
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[email protected] ABSTRACT Allometric models defining the relationship between stem diameter and total tree height in the Amazon basin are important because they refine the estimates of tree carbon stocks and flow in the region. This study tests different allometric models to estimate the total tree height from the stem diameter in an ecotone zone between ombrophilous and seasonal forests in the Brazilian state of Roraima, in northern Amazonia. Stem diameter and total height were measured directly in 65 recently fallen trees (live or dead). Linear and nonlinear regressions were tested to represent the D:H relation in this specific ecotone zone. Criteria for model selection were the standard error of the estimate (Syx) and the adjusted coefficient of determination (R²adj), complemented by the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC).