Efecto del espaciamiento en la estimacion indirecta del indice de area foliar en plantaciones dendroenergeticas de Eucalipto

The influence of spacing on the estimation of the leaf area index (LAI) in Eucalyptus tereticornis and Eucalyptus saligna plantations was evaluated. Three spacings per species were analyzed: 1.0 x 2.0 m, 1.0 x 1.0 m, and 1.0 x 0.5 m. Dasometric variables and the LAI were measured with two indirect methods (LICOR 2000 and digital hemispheric photography, DHP) and a direct method. The results showed no differences between species. On the other hand, spacing significantly influenced the diameter (less spacing, less diameter) and the LAI (less spacing, higher LAI), with variations from 2.11 to 3.96 m2.m-2. An evaluation of the indirect methods showed that, by reducing the spacing, the bias in the estimation increased. FDH showed greater accuracy and tended to underestimate the LAI by 7%. In contrast, LICOR 2000 showed a high bias, with a tendency to overestimate the LAI by up to 30%.