Age and diameter structure of a managed uneven-aged oak forest

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 1060-1070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward F Loewenstein ◽  
Paul S Johnson ◽  
Harold E Garrett

We studied the age and diameter structure on one section (259 ha) of a 63 000-ha privately owned forest in the Ozark Highlands of Missouri. The forest has been managed using a partial cutting strategy since 1954. Because a majority of the trees predate current management practices, the existing stand structure is a function of not only the current silvicultural system and the dynamics of this ecosystem but also the initial stand conditions. To determine age structure and evaluate the relationship of diameter and age, a random sample of 600 oaks [Formula: see text]4 cm DBH were collected from ten 0.4-ha plots. Based on the test of a binomial proportion, the oak populations on 7 of the 10 plots were deemed uneven aged, two were deemed two aged, and one was even aged. DBH accounted for 40 (red oaks) to 62% (white oaks) of the variation in tree age. Although the overall diameter frequency distribution of oaks formed a reverse-J shape, the age-frequency distribution approximated a normal (bell-shaped) distribution. We show how this apparent inconsistency between diameter and age distributions can be an artifact of a minimum sampling diameter. Such a truncation of the sampled population reduces the observed frequency of trees in the younger age-classes, which in turn results in a bell-shaped rather than a reverse-J-shaped age-frequency distribution. Thus, the lack of a reverse- J-shaped age distribution should not be interpreted as a failure to sustain regeneration in an uneven-aged stand.

1978 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Westrheim ◽  
W. E. Ricker

Consider two representative samples of fish taken in different years from the same fish population, this being a population in which year-class strength varies. For the "parental" sample the length and age of the fish are determined and are used to construct an "age–length key," the fractions of the fish in each (short) length interval that are of each age. For the "filial" sample only the length is measured, and the parental age–length key is used to compute the corresponding age distribution. Trials show that the age–length key will reproduce the age-frequency distribution of the filial sample without systematic bias only if there is no overlap in length between successive ages. Where there is much overlap, the age–length key will compute from the filial length-frequency distribution approximately the parental age distribution. Additional bias arises if the rate of growth if a year-class is affected by its abundance, or if the survival rate in the population changes. The length of the fish present in any given part of a population's range can vary with environmental factors such as depth of the water; nevertheless, a sample taken in any part of that range can be used to compute age from the length distribution of a sample taken at the same time in any other part of the range, without systematic bias. But this of course is not likely to be true of samples taken from different populations of the species. Key words: age–length key, bias, Pacific ocean perch, Sebastes alutus


Parasitology ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 101 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. K. Das ◽  
A. Manoharan ◽  
A. Srividya ◽  
B. T. Grenfell ◽  
D. A. P. Bundy ◽  
...  

SUMMARYThis paper examines the effects of host age and sex on the frequency distribution of Wuchereria bancrofti infections in the human host. Microfilarial counts from a large data base on the epidemiology of bancroftian filariasis in Pondicherry, South India are analysed. Frequency distributions of microfilarial counts divided by age are successfully described by zero-truncated negative binomial distributions, fitted by maximum likelihood. Parameter estimates from the fits indicate a significant trend of decreasing overdispersion with age in the distributions above age 10; this pattern provides indirect evidence for the operation of density-dependent constraints on microfilarial intensity. The analysis also provides estimates of the proportion of mf-positive individuals who are identified as negative due to sampling errors (around 5% of the total negatives). This allows the construction of corrected mf age–prevalence curves, which indicate that the observed prevalence may underestimate the true figures by between 25% and 100%. The age distribution of mf-negative individuals in the population is discussed in terms of current hypotheses about the interaction between disease and infection.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
pp. 170103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chanchal Mondal ◽  
Siddharth G. Chatterjee

The surface of a turbulent liquid is visualized as consisting of a large number of chaotic eddies or liquid elements. Assuming that surface elements of a particular age have renewal frequencies that are integral multiples of a fundamental frequency quantum, and further assuming that the renewal frequency distribution is of the Boltzmann type, performing a population balance for these elements leads to the Danckwerts surface age distribution. The basic quantum is what has been traditionally called the rate of surface renewal. The Higbie surface age distribution follows if the renewal frequency distribution of such elements is assumed to be continuous. Four age distributions, which reflect different start-up conditions of the absorption process, are then used to analyse transient physical gas absorption into a large volume of liquid, assuming negligible gas-side mass-transfer resistance. The first two are different versions of the Danckwerts model, the third one is based on the uniform and Higbie distributions, while the fourth one is a mixed distribution. For the four cases, theoretical expressions are derived for the rates of gas absorption and dissolved-gas transfer to the bulk liquid. Under transient conditions, these two rates are not equal and have an inverse relationship. However, with the progress of absorption towards steady state, they approach one another. Assuming steady-state conditions, the conventional one-parameter Danckwerts age distribution is generalized to a two-parameter age distribution. Like the two-parameter logarithmic normal distribution, this distribution can also capture the bell-shaped nature of the distribution of the ages of surface elements observed experimentally in air–sea gas and heat exchange. Estimates of the liquid-side mass-transfer coefficient made using these two distributions for the absorption of hydrogen and oxygen in water are very close to one another and are comparable to experimental values reported in the literature.


2008 ◽  
Vol 256 (8) ◽  
pp. 1517-1526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Genet ◽  
Nomessi Kokutse ◽  
Alexia Stokes ◽  
Thierry Fourcaud ◽  
Xiaohu Cai ◽  
...  

1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucie Maillette

A study of the demography of the needles and the growth pattern of Corsican pine is presented in relation to other studies of foliage dynamics. The construction of life tables is explained and applied to populations of Corsican pine needles. Needles from different trees as well as from different parts of trees had different survivorship. Leader needles had a much lower survivorship than all other needles. The frequency distribution of shoot lengths was log-normal, with the leader as the longest shoot. Climatic variations, tree age, apical dominance, and growth pattern appeared to be some of the factors involved in needle survivorship. Possible causes of needle senescence are considered with respect to an "activity schedule" derived from the work of other authors.


2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (No. 4) ◽  
pp. 205-210
Author(s):  
Jan Křen ◽  
Martin Houšť ◽  
Ludvík Tvarůžek ◽  
Zdeněk Jergl

The results of 81 different crop management practices in spring barley grown in small-plot field trials on fertile soils in central Moravia were assessed during 2014–2016 with the aim to achieve the highest gross margin (GM – calculated as the difference between revenues and direct costs). GM was most affected by protein content in the grain below 12% corresponding to malting quality. Analyses identified greater determination level of non-linear relationships between stand structure elements and the content of nitrogen substances in the grain. This indicates that the probability of obtaining high quality malting barley is increased when a high level of sinks (number of grains/m<sup>2</sup>) corresponding to availability of sources, mainly water, is formed by optimal plant density (300–400/m<sup>2</sup>) and balanced combination of both structural elements of crop stand, i.e. – number of spikes per plant (2–4) and number of grains per spike (18–26). In case that the high level of sinks will be formed predominantly by one element, the risk of higher protein content in grain increases. This constitutes the requirement of early sowing and uniform, synchronized tillering and efficient use of nitrogen fertilizers.


1995 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 1173-1179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry F. Strong ◽  
Gayne G. Erdmann ◽  
Jeffrey N. Niese

The effects of six cutting methods on tree quality were observed for 20 years in a northern hardwood stand in Wisconsin. Cutting treatments included an uncut control, three levels of individual tree selection (heavy, medium, and light), crop tree release, and diameter limit. Average annual diameter growth was least in the control treatment (0.13 in./year, 0.33 cm/year) and greatest in the heavy individual tree selection and diameter-limit cuts (0.18 in./year, 0.46 cm/year). Cull in trees in 1992 was significantly higher in the control and diameter-limit treatments. Changes in merchantable height (number of 16-ft (4.9-m) logs) over the period were not significantly different among treatments, but average merchantable heights were significantly greater in the individual tree selection treatments in 1992. Average tree grade increases were significantly better in the medium selection plots than in all other treatments except the crop tree release. Nearly a third of the sawlog-size trees in both the control and diameter-limit treatments were below sawlog grade, significantly more than in the other treatments. Only 2% of the trees in the heavy selection plots were below grade. Tree quality improved the most overall in the medium selection plots. Stand structure in this treatment also most closely matched that recommended by guides developed to sustain yield over long periods of cutting under uneven-aged management.


2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (11) ◽  
pp. 2168-2179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Boudreault ◽  
Yves Bergeron ◽  
Darwyn Coxson

Alectorioid lichens are the dominant group of epiphytic lichens in boreal forests. Epiphytic lichen richness and abundance generally increase with stand age and within-stand heterogeneity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the importance of time elapsed since the last fire, stand structure, tree size, tree age, and branch height for epiphytic lichen biomass of the boreal forest of western Quebec. We sampled 12 sites belonging to four forest age classes (from 50 to >200 years). We assessed epiphytic lichen biomass of three species groups ( Bryoria , Evernia , and Usnea ) on 12 trees in each site. Our results showed that biomass of Bryoria and Usnea was higher in intermediate stages (between 101 and 200 years) compared with younger (50–100 years) and older (>200 years) stages. Biomass of the three species groups was greater on larger diameter trees (>16 cm) compared with smaller ones (<16 cm). These results indicate that the protection of postfire stands aged between 101 and 200 year should be prioritized to maintain the functional role of epiphytic lichens in managed landscapes.


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