Sector subsampling for basal area ratio estimation: an alternative to big BAF sampling

Author(s):  
Xiao Dai ◽  
Mark J. Ducey ◽  
John A. Kershaw ◽  
Haozhou Wang

Big basal area factor (big BAF) sampling is a widely used subsampling method to select measure-trees. Several studies have shown big BAF sampling to be an efficient sampling scheme. In this study, we use sector sampling (Smith et al. 2008, For. Sci. 54: 67–76) as an alternative subsample selection method. Based on some simulated mapped stands derived from three balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) spacing trials in western Newfoundland, we show that sector subsampling is comparable to big BAF sampling in terms of estimated mean basal area ratios and their associated standard errors. Differences between big BAF sampling and sector sampling methods showed less than 1% difference across the three sites. As with big BAF sampling, changes in sample intensity had no significant (p < 0.05) effects on the accuracy of estimating mean biomass to basal area ratios and the resulting estimated mean biomasses per unit area.

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 208-214
Author(s):  
Anna Sumardi ◽  
Muthia Elma ◽  
Aptar Eka Lestari ◽  
Zaini Lambri Assyaifi ◽  
Adi Darmawan ◽  
...  

Currently, xerogel has been applied as a filtration material, especially in membrane desalination. However, the xerogel matrix structure for desalination have to be designed properly in order to allow rejection of salt and obtain good hydro-stability, thus, silica precursor in the form of TEOS (tetraethyl orthosilicate)/TEVS (triethoxy vinyl silane) and organic acid catalyst are suitable material for fabrication. The aim of this study is therefore to fabricate and perform deconvolution of TEOS/TEVS xerogel by adding single or dual catalyst, using FTIR (Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy) and Fityk software. The xerogel was fabricated by dried silica sol and calcined using RTP technique (rapid thermal processing) at 450 °C.  Prior to this fabrication, the silica sol was synthesized by sol gel method, using a mixture of silica precursor TEOS/TEVS, ethanol solvent, and varied addition of single catalyst (citric acid) as well as dual catalyst (citric acid + ammonia) for 2 hours, at 50 °C. Subsequently, the xerogel was characterized by FTIR and the deconvolution was obtained through Gaussian approach, with Fityk software. All TEOS/TEVS xerogel samples indicated existence of silanol (Si-OH), siloxane (Si-O-Si) and silica-carbon (Si-C) functional groups. The xerogel deconvolution of TEOS/TEVS using single catalyst exhibit a peak area ratio of Si-OH/Si-O-Si, and this is similar to the dual catalyst counterpart of 0.24 (unit area) and 1.86 (unit area), for Si-C area ratio. This shows the addition of single catalyst was enough to produce deconvolution in TEOS/TEVS xerogel, dominated by siloxane functional group and carbon bonds with the ability to enhance membrane material hydro-stability’s fabrication.


2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 92-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron R. Weiskittel ◽  
Laura S. Kenefic ◽  
Rongxia Li ◽  
John Brissette

Abstract The effects of four precommercial thinning (PCT) treatments on an even-aged northern conifer stand in Maine were investigated by examining stand structure and composition 32 years after treatment. Replicated treatments applied in 1976 included: (1) control (no PCT), (2) row thinning (rowthin; 5-ft-wide row removal with 3-ft-wide residual strips), (3) row thinning with crop tree release (rowthin+CTR; 5-ft-wide row removal with crop tree release at 8-ft intervals in 3-ft-wide residual strips), and (4) crop tree release (CTR; release of selected crop trees at 8×8-ft intervals). PCT plots had more large trees and fewer small trees than the control in 2008. There were no other significant differences between the rowthin and control. The rowthin+CTR and CTR treatments had lower total and hardwood basal area (BA) and higher merchantable conifer BA than the control. CTR also resulted in more red spruce (Picea rubens [Sarg.]) and less balsam fir (Abies balsamea [L.]) than the other treatments. Although stand structures for rowthin+CTR and CTR were similar, the percentage of spruce in CTR was greater. Although the less-intensive rowthin+CTR treatment may provide many of the same benefits as CTR, the latter would be the preferred treatment if increasing the spruce component of a stand is an objective. Overall, early thinning treatments were found to have long-term effects on key stand attributes, even more than 30 years after treatment in areas with mixed species composition and moderate site potential.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1049-1050 ◽  
pp. 573-577
Author(s):  
Zhi Peng Yao

In consideration of the generated energy per unit area as large as possible and the expense of generated energy per unit as low as possible, this paper has proposed optimization selection method for the types of solar panels about six surfaces of the single house which receive solar radiation,the solar panels series and parallel connection and the invertors. The final laying scheme has been obtained through the synthetical evaluation of the optimization results about six surfaces .


2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (10) ◽  
pp. 2521-2527 ◽  
Author(s):  
François Potvin ◽  
Normand Bertrand ◽  
Jean Ferron

The snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus Erxleben) is an important prey for many predators in the boreal forest. In this biome, clear-cut landscapes are generally large and consist of aggregated cutting blocks separated by narrow forest strips (typically 60–100 m wide). To identify attributes of forest strips that are important for snowshoe hares, we measured the use of strips using track counts over two winters in six clear-cut landscapes (23–256 km2) in south-central Quebec. Surveys were conducted in 20 riparian strips (RS), 20 upland strips (US), and 15 control sites (CO) at the periphery of clear-cut landscapes. Overall, 392 signs of hare presence were recorded along 50 km of transects. Snowshoe hares were present in one-third of the strips surveyed and were five times less abundant in US and RS than in CO. The species avoided strip edges. Hares were more common in the wider strips (>100 m), in the strips adjacent to residual forest patches (≥25 ha), or in those having a denser shrub canopy, which is often associated with a greater basal area in balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.). To maintain snowshoe hare at moderate densities in large clear-cut landscapes, we suggest leaving uncut forest strips >100 m wide in areas having a good shrub cover with presence of balsam fir.


Author(s):  
Brian K. Beachkofski ◽  
Ramana V. Grandhi

For probabilistic designs or assessments to be acceptable, they must have the statistically robust confidence intervals provided by sampling methods. However, sample-based analyses require the number of function evaluations to be so great as to be impractical for many complex engineering applications. Efficient sampling methods allow probabilistic analysis on more applications than basic methods, although they still require a significant computational budget. This paper reviews a series of tools that aim to reduce variance in individual failure rate estimates which would reduce the confidence interval for the same number of evaluations. Several methods share a common goal, lowering the sample discrepancy within the sample space, that will create near optimal low-discrepancy sample sets. The optimization approaches include evolutionary algorithms, piecewise optimization, and centroidal Voronoi tessellation. The results of the optimization procedures show a much lower discrepancy than previous methods.


1989 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. C. Baldwin Jr. ◽  
D. P. Feduccia ◽  
J. D. Haywood

This study compared growth responses in planted loblolly pine (Pinustaeda L.) and slash pine (P. elliottii Engelm.) stands thinned by using three row-felling methods and at the same density levels, three selective felling methods. The study plots were in six plantations, aged 15–22 years, located in central Louisiana. Growth was measured 5 and 10 years after plot installation. Site index varied from 19.5 to 31.7 m (base age 50) and initial planting densities ranged from 1993 to 2989 trees/ha. Study results show there will likely be less diameter increment and less net basal area and cubic-metre volume per unit area growth and yield, and the growth will be in smaller-sized trees, if row thinning is used rather than selective thinning from below. These differences will probably be greater in slash pine plantations than in loblolly pine plantations.


1964 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 474-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. E. Vezina

The concept of stand density in relation to thinning is examined and its development over the years is discussed. Present difficulties of objectively measuring stand density are recognized and probable future trends towards the development of better formulae to express stand density are outlined. Researchers should continue to collect information on interrelationships among stand variables. Certain merits accrue from description of stand density in terms of variables, such as crown closure, that can be measured with some precision from aerial photographs. Conversely, valid estimates of crown closure which are often difficult to obtain by means of devices from the ground, could be predicted from stand density. Three stand variables, used as expressions of stand density, were tested in crown closure simple regressions in even-aged, unmanaged stands of balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) and jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.). These are: total number of trees, number of trees 4 inches and up, and basal area per acre. The strongest relationship found was the one where crown closure is compared with basal area; it was stronger for jack pine than for balsam fir. This was explained by differences in tolerance among the two species. The significance of these relationships for the stand development, and the feasibility of using height-and diameter-based indices as measures of growing stock in studies of yield are discussed.


1961 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Doney ◽  
W. F. Smith

1. Seasonal changes in wool production per unit area of unstretched skin, number of fibres of each type per unit area, ratio of fibre types, mean fibre weights, lengths and diameters and degree of medullation are given. The production cycle shows a peak in August and September and a trough in February and March, the weight of wool produced in the latter period being only 16% of that in the former. Approximately 80% of the fleece is produced in the 6 months from June to November (lambing ewes). Other components show similar trends.2. The production cycle does not entirely coincide with the nutritional cycle as estimated from bodyweight changes before late pregnancy. Whilst bodyweight increases from September to November wool production declines by about 25%.3. The winter drop in wool production per unit area is caused partly by a decrease in the mean weight of each fibre type (in turn made up of a decrease in both length and diameter) and partly by a 50% reduction in the number of active fine fibre follicles and a 100% reduction in active kemp follicles. There is no apparent change in the number of active coarse fibre follicles. The degree of medullation of both coarse and fine fibres declines substantially between December and May.


2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 224-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Prévost ◽  
Daniel Dumais

Estimating residual tree survival and growth is crucial for evaluating the overall merit of partial harvesting. In this case study, we present the effects of different cutting intensities (0%, 40%, 50%, and 60% of merchantable (diameter at breast height ≥ 9.1 cm) basal area (BA)) on the response of residual trees in two mixed yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.) – conifer stands in eastern Quebec, Canada. Primarily aimed at promoting regeneration establishment, the experiment was conducted in two sites 90 km apart (Armagh and Duchesnay), each one containing four replicates of treatments in a randomized block design. Mortality after cutting decreased with increasing BA removal, but losses were two to three times higher at Armagh (62–138 stems/ha) than at Duchesnay (22–88 stems/ha). Loss of conifer stems involved primarily balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) under natural conditions (control), whereas fir and red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) were equally affected in partial cuts. Red maple (Acer rubrum L.) and paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.) were lost regardless of treatment. As a whole, growth in merchantable BA increased with cutting intensity. Uniform partial cuts produced good BA growth response from conifers at Armagh (0.27–0.28 m2·ha−1·year−1) and from hardwoods at Duchesnay (0.16–0.25 m2·ha−1·year−1), whereas BA growth was negligible for both species groups in the control. We examine the role of species composition and stand structure before cutting in the response of residual trees.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document