Predicting maximum branch diameter from crown dimensions, stand characteristics and tree species

2011 ◽  
Vol 87 (04) ◽  
pp. 542-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Groot ◽  
Robert Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Wood Quality ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Remotely Sensed Data ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Branch Diameter ◽  
Crown Length ◽  
Stand Basal Area ◽  
Stand Characteristics

Forest resource inventories must include wood quality information to support the optimum use of wood fibre. The objective of this study was to develop models relating maximum live branch diameter (MBD), which affects lumber value, to tree and stand characteristics that can be measured through current and emerging remote sensing technologies. Using non-linear mixed effects models for six Canadian conifer species, as well as for three broad-leaved species, MBD was related to crown radius, tree height, crown length, stand basal area, and basal area of trees larger than the subject tree. Models that included only individual tree characteristics (crown radius, tree height, and crown length) did not perform as well as models that additionally included stand characteristics (stand basal area and basal area of larger trees). Models that took into account tree species performed better than models that did not; in particular, broadleaved species had much thicker branches than conifers. The best model did not show bias with respect to independent variables and had root mean square error of 0.32 cm. For the best model, prediction error was not related to silvicultural treatment. These model characteristics strongly support the potential to successfully predict MBD from remotely sensed data.

scholarly journals Regional Height–Diameter Equations for Major Tree Species of Southwest Oregon

2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 213-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hailemariam Temesgen ◽  
David W. Hann ◽  
Vincente J. Monleon
Keyword(s):  
Relative Position ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Stand Density ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Fit Statistics ◽  
Alternative Measures ◽  
Southwest Oregon ◽  
Accuracy Of Prediction

Abstract Selected tree height and diameter functions were evaluated for their predictive abilities for major tree species of southwest Oregon. Two sets of equations were evaluated. The first set included four base equations for estimating height as a function of individual tree diameter, and the remaining 16 equations enhanced the four base equations with alternative measures of stand density and relative position. The inclusion of the crown competition factor in larger trees (CCFL) and basal area (BA), which simultaneously indicates the relative position of a tree and stand density, into the base height–diameter equations increased the accuracy of prediction for all species. On the average, root mean square error values were reduced by 45 cm (15% improvement). On the basis of the residual plots and fit statistics, two equations are recommended for estimating tree heights for major tree species in southwest Oregon. The equation coefficients are documented for future use.

scholarly journals Modeling Early Responses of Loblolly Pine Growth to Thinning in the Western Gulf Coastal Plain Region

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (5) ◽  
pp. 623-633
Author(s):  
Y H Weng ◽  
J Grogan ◽  
D W Coble
Keyword(s):  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Growth Responses ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Large Trees ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Pinus Taeda L ◽  
Stand Basal Area

Abstract Growth response to thinning has long been a research topic of interest in forest science. This study presents the first 3–4 years of response of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) growth to thinning at different intensities. Data were collected from the East Texas Pine Research Project’s region-wide loblolly pine thinning study, which covers a wide variety of stand conditions. Four treatments, light, moderate, and heavy thinning, respectively having 370, 555, and 740 residual trees per hectare after thinning, and an unthinned control, were included. Individual tree diameter at breast height (dbh) and total height were recorded annually for the first 3–4 years after thinning. Results indicate significant differences between treatments in dbh growth in each year after thinning, as well as for all years combined. Each thinning treatment had significantly greater dbh growth than the control in the first growing season with this positive response being more evident in the case of the heavier thinning or at the later years post-thinning. Conversely, the thinning effect on tree height growth was initially negligibly negative, then becoming positive after 2–4 years, with the heavier thinning becoming positive sooner. Tree size class, assigned based on prethinning dbh, had a significant effect on both dbh and height growth responses. Compared to the control, small trees had a greater response both in dbh and in height growth than the medium and large trees over the measurement period. At the stand level, the heavier thinning had significantly less stand basal area per hectare, but the difference in stand basal area per hectare between the thinned and the unthinned plots decreased with years post-thinning. Results from this study can improve our understanding in thinning effects and help forest managers make accurate decisions on silvicultural regimes.

Individual Tree Basal Area Increment and Total Height Equations for Appalachian Mixed Hardwoods After Thinning

1986 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wade C. Harrison ◽  
Thomas E. Burk ◽  
Donald E. Beck
Keyword(s):  
Basal Area ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Basal Area Increment ◽  
Average Height ◽  
Regression Equations ◽  
White Oak ◽  
Annual Increment ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Total Height ◽  
Stand Basal Area

Abstract Growth response of various species to thinning in even-aged stands of Appalachian mixed hardwoods was predicted with species-specific regression equations. Periodic annual increment over a five-year period was expressed as a linear function of original tree basal area divided by breast height age and a thinning or competition index based on stand basal area. For most species, a combination of stand basal area before and after thinning served as the thinning index; for the five oak species studied, the index was simply stand basal area after thinning. Nonlinear regression equations were formulated to express total tree height as a function of dbh and average height of dominant and codominant white oak. The equations for tree basal area increment and total height may be applied to predict growth after thinning in Appalachian mixed hardwood stands. South J. Appl. For. 10:99-104, May 1986

scholarly journals Adjudicating Perspectives on Forest Structure: How Do Airborne, Terrestrial, and Mobile Lidar-Derived Estimates Compare?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2297
Author(s):  
Jonathon J. Donager ◽  
Andrew J. Sánchez Meador ◽  
Ryan C. Blackburn
Keyword(s):  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Absolute Error ◽  
Forest Monitoring ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Structural Configurations ◽  
Individual Trees

Applications of lidar in ecosystem conservation and management continue to expand as technology has rapidly evolved. An accounting of relative accuracy and errors among lidar platforms within a range of forest types and structural configurations was needed. Within a ponderosa pine forest in northern Arizona, we compare vegetation attributes at the tree-, plot-, and stand-scales derived from three lidar platforms: fixed-wing airborne (ALS), fixed-location terrestrial (TLS), and hand-held mobile laser scanning (MLS). We present a methodology to segment individual trees from TLS and MLS datasets, incorporating eigen-value and density metrics to locate trees, then assigning point returns to trees using a graph-theory shortest-path approach. Overall, we found MLS consistently provided more accurate structural metrics at the tree- (e.g., mean absolute error for DBH in cm was 4.8, 5.0, and 9.1 for MLS, TLS and ALS, respectively) and plot-scale (e.g., R2 for field observed and lidar-derived basal area, m2 ha−1, was 0.986, 0.974, and 0.851 for MLS, TLS, and ALS, respectively) as compared to ALS and TLS. While TLS data produced estimates similar to MLS, attributes derived from TLS often underpredicted structural values due to occlusion. Additionally, ALS data provided accurate estimates of tree height for larger trees, yet consistently missed and underpredicted small trees (≤35 cm). MLS produced accurate estimates of canopy cover and landscape metrics up to 50 m from plot center. TLS tended to underpredict both canopy cover and patch metrics with constant bias due to occlusion. Taking full advantage of minimal occlusion effects, MLS data consistently provided the best individual tree and plot-based metrics, with ALS providing the best estimates for volume, biomass, and canopy cover. Overall, we found MLS data logistically simple, quickly acquirable, and accurate for small area inventories, assessments, and monitoring activities. We suggest further work exploring the active use of MLS for forest monitoring and inventory.

scholarly journals Predicting Growing Stock Volume of Eucalyptus Plantations Using 3-D Point Clouds Derived from UAV Imagery and ALS Data

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 905 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guerra-Hernández ◽  
Cosenza ◽  
Cardil ◽  
Silva ◽  
Botequim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Point Clouds ◽  
Volume Estimation ◽  
P Value ◽  
Test Statistic ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Significant Difference

Estimating forest inventory variables is important in monitoring forest resources and mitigating climate change. In this respect, forest managers require flexible, non-destructive methods for estimating volume and biomass. High-resolution and low-cost remote sensing data are increasingly available to measure three-dimensional (3D) canopy structure and to model forest structural attributes. The main objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the individual tree volume estimates derived from high-density point clouds obtained from airborne laser scanning (ALS) and digital aerial photogrammetry (DAP) in Eucalyptus spp. plantations. Object-based image analysis (OBIA) techniques were applied for individual tree crown (ITC) delineation. The ITC algorithm applied correctly detected and delineated 199 trees from ALS-derived data, while 192 trees were correctly identified using DAP-based point clouds acquired from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), representing accuracy levels of respectively 62% and 60%. Addressing volume modelling, non-linear regression fit based on individual tree height and individual crown area derived from the ITC provided the following results: Model Efficiency (Mef) = 0.43 and 0.46, Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) = 0.030 m3 and 0.026 m3, rRMSE = 20.31% and 19.97%, and an approximately unbiased results (0.025 m3 and 0.0004 m3) using DAP and ALS-based estimations, respectively. No significant difference was found between the observed value (field data) and volume estimation from ALS and DAP (p-value from t-test statistic = 0.99 and 0.98, respectively). The proposed approaches could also be used to estimate basal area or biomass stocks in Eucalyptus spp. plantations.

Individual Tree Measurement in Tropical Environment using Terrestrial Laser Scanning

2015 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Zulkarnain Abdul Rahman ◽  
Zulkepli Majid ◽  
Md Afif Abu Bakar ◽  
Abd Wahid Rasib ◽  
Wan Hazli Wan Kadir
Keyword(s):  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Mean Squared Error ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Point Clouds ◽  
Tree Crown ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Branch Diameter ◽  
Reference Tree ◽  
Crown Volume ◽  
Tree Branch

Detailed forest inventory and mensuration of individual trees have drawn attention of research society mainly to support sustainable forest management. This study aims at estimating individual tree attributes from high density point cloud obtained by terrestrial laser scanner (TLS). The point clouds were obtained over single reference tree and group of trees in forest area. The reference tree is treated as benchmark since detailed measurements of branch diameter were made on selected branches with different sizes and locations. Diameter at breast height (DBH) was measured for trees in forest. Furthermore tree height, height to crown base, crown volume and tree branch volume were also estimated for each tree. Branch diameter is estimated directly from the point clouds based on semi-automatic approach of model fitting i.e. sphere, ellipse and cylinder. Tree branch volume is estimated based on the volume of the fitted models. Tree height and height to crown base are computed using histogram analysis of the point clouds elevation. Tree crown volume is estimated by fitting a convex-hull on the tree crown. The results show that the Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) of the estimated tree branch diameter does not have a specific trend with branch sizes and number of points used for fitting process. This explains complicated distribution of point clouds over the branches. Overall cylinder model produces good results with most branch sizes and number of point clouds for fitting. The cylinder fitting approach shows significantly better estimation results compared to sphere and ellipse fitting models.   

scholarly journals Height-Diameter Equations for Ten Tree Species in the Inland Northwest

1996 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 132-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Moore ◽  
Lianjun Zhang ◽  
Dean Stuck
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Small Diameter ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
The Other ◽  
Prediction Errors ◽  
Validation Data ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Major Species ◽  
Inland Northwest ◽  
Prognosis Model

Abstract Individual tree height-diameter equations were developed for ten major species in the inland Northwest. The Wykoff function in the Stand Prognosis Model and the Lundqvist function were fit to data which included many large-sized trees. The two models fit the data equally well for all species. Prediction results using the existing Prognosis equation, the refitted Wykoff function, and the Lundqvist function showed that the three models predicted similar heights for trees of small diameter. However, both the refitted Wykoff function and the Lundqvist function predicted larger tree heights for trees with dbh greater than 20 in. for most species. The estimated heights for tree diameters of 70 or 80 in. from the Lundqvist function were closer to the observed "asymptotic" tree heights than the other two. The Lundqvist function showed lower prediction errors for the validation data for the majority of the tree species, especially for large-sized trees. West. J. Appl. For. 11(4):132-137.

Forest regeneration in northeastern Poland following a catastrophic blowdown

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 1172-1182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorota Dobrowolska
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Natural Regeneration ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Species Structure ◽  
Tree Vitality

The aims of the investigation were to (i) quantify the changes in natural regeneration and stand structure, (ii) determine the role of deadwood in the process of regeneration following the disturbance, and (iii) determine the effect of disturbance severity on tree recruitment. The study was conducted in the Szast Protected Forest, which was established after a blowdown in 2002. The results showed that the trees were mainly wind-snapped. The basal area of the slightly disturbed stands increased over time. Herb cover increased, whereas moss cover decreased in 2011. The disturbance severity influenced the density of tree species regeneration, moss and herb ground cover, species diversity, average tree height, tree vitality, and damage caused by herbivores. The density of natural regeneration increased and new species became established after the disturbance. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) was the dominant tree species during the regeneration process except in the severely disturbed stand from which wood had been removed; in this case, birch was the dominant species. Wind disturbance increased species diversity and created a new forest with a particular species structure and trees that varied in age and height. The results of this study will be useful for foresters and policymakers to change the existing approaches to large-scale disturbances in the Polish forests.

Meta-analysis of understory white spruce response to release from overstory aspen

2004 ◽  
Vol 80 (6) ◽  
pp. 694-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rongzhou Man ◽  
Ken J Greenway
Keyword(s):  
Growth Response ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Polynomial Regression ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Response Ratio ◽  
Mixed Effect ◽  
Individual Tree

Meta-analysis was used to summarize the research results on the growth response of understory white spruce to release from overstory aspen from different studies available from published and unpublished sources. The data were screened for the suitability for meta-analysis. Treatment effect sizes were calculated using response ratio from mean cumulative increments of released and control trees since release in height, diameter, and volume and modeled using a polynomial mixed effect regression procedure. Predictor variables include linear, quadratic, and cubic components of three independent variables — initial tree height, number of years after release, and residual basal area at release — and their linear interactions. Models with a reasonable predictive power were developed for height, diameter, and volume response, but no significant model was identified for survival. The models developed in this study can be applied to predict the growth response of understory white spruce to release, based on the growth of unreleased control trees, initial tree height, residual basal area at release, and time since release. The individual tree prediction can be easily scaled up to stand level if residual tree density and distribution is known. Key words: meta-analysis, boreal mixedwood, mixed model, polynomial regression, response ratio, growth, survival

Crown efficiency in a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) spacing experiment

1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (9) ◽  
pp. 1344-1351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hubert Sterba ◽  
Ralph L Amateis
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Taeda ◽  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Projection Area ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Dominant Height ◽  
Crown Projection Area ◽  
Pinus Taeda L ◽  
Crown Closure

Crown efficiency was first defined by Assmann (1961. Waldertragskunde. BLV, München) as individual tree volume increment per unit of crown projection area. He hypothesized that within a given crown class, smaller crowns are more efficient because their ratio between crown surface and horizontal crown projection is higher. Data from a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) spacing experiment were used to test if this hypothesis also holds in young loblolly pine stands and, if so, to determine if it explains the increment differences between spacings in the spacing experiment. Using individual tree height relative to plot dominant height to describe crown class, within-plot regression showed that crown efficiency decreased with crown size for trees below dominant height. This relationship was much less pronounced than indicated from Assmann's examples, although the crown surface to crown projection ratio behaved in the same way as Assmann had hypothesized. Crown efficiency as well as the crown surface to crown projection area ratio decreased with increasing density. Basal area increment per hectare increased until total crown closure approached 130% and then stayed constant. This major impact of total crown coverage brings into question the usefullness of crown efficiency as an indicator for unit area growth.

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