Effects of Measurement Error in Total Tree Height and Upper-Stem Diameter on Stem Volume Prediction

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). Analysis of residuals of the most parsimonious nonlinear models showed a tendency to overestimate the total tree height for trees in the 20-40 cm diameter range. Application of our best fitted model (Michaelis-Menten) indicated that previously published general equations for the tropics that use diameter as the independent variable can either overestimate tree height in the study area by 10-29% (Weibull models) or underestimate it by 8% (climate-based models). We concluded that our site-specific model can be used in the ecotone forests studied in Roraima because it realistically reflects the local biometric relationships between stem diameter and total tree height. Studies need to be expanded in peripheral areas of northern Amazonia in order to reduce uncertainties in biomass and carbon estimates that use the tree height as a variable in general models.

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Total and Merchantable Volume Equations and Taper Functions for Southwestern Ponderosa Pine

Western Journal of Applied Forestry ◽

10.1093/wjaf/3.4.123 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 123-125 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

J. P. McTague ◽

W. F. Stansfield

Keyword(s):

Pinus Ponderosa ◽

Ponderosa Pine ◽

Tree Height ◽

Stem Diameter ◽

Height Functions ◽

Breast Height ◽

Pine Trees ◽

Yellow Pine ◽

Total Tree ◽

Volume Equations

Abstract Total outside and inside bark cubic foot volume equations are presented for southwestern ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) that are functions of total tree height, diameter breast height, and Girard form class. These equations are appropriate for trees of any size or age, and no distinction is made between "blackjack" and "yellow pine" trees. Equations are included to predict merchantable volume to any upper stem diameter or merchantable height. Taper and merchantable height functions are indirectly derived from the merchantable volume equations. West. J. Appl For. 3(4):123-125, October 1988.

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Effects of measurement error on Monte Carlo integration estimators of tree volume: sample diameters measured at random upper-stem heights

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/cjfr-2014-0376 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 45 (4) ◽

pp. 471-479 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Thomas B. Lynch

Keyword(s):

Monte Carlo ◽

Measurement Error ◽

Importance Sampling ◽

Sampling Error ◽

Monte Carlo Integration ◽

Stem Diameter ◽

Tree Level ◽

Stem Volume ◽

Control Variate ◽

And Control

A study of the effects of measurement error was conducted on importance sampling and control variate sampling estimators of tree stem volume in which sample diameters are measured at randomly selected upper-stem heights. It was found that these estimators were unbiased in the presence of additive mean zero and multiplicative mean one measurement error applied to random samples of upper-stem diameter squared. However, biases due to measurement error are present if additive or multiplicative error is applied to upper-stem diameter rather than to upper-stem diameter squared. This is significant, as it appears that most of the previous studies on the magnitude of upper-stem diameter measurement error implicitly assume that the mean error is centered around the diameter rather than about the square of the diameter. Application of typical upper-stem measurement error obtained from previous studies to bias formulae derived here indicates that the bias could be a concern for small trees and with additive measurement error within ranges found in previous studies. Formulae for the variances of importance sampling and control variate sampling are derived, which include the contribution of both measurement error and sampling error. Results from previous studies of Monte Carlo integration estimator sampling error are combined with results from studies of upper-stem measurement error to obtain estimates of the typical magnitude of the contribution of measurement error to total estimator variability. Increases in upper-stem sample size may be warranted due to the impact of measurement error if precise estimates of stem volume at the individual-tree level are desired.

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Allometric relationships for the estimation of dry mass of aboveground organs in young highland Norway spruce stand

Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis ◽

10.11118/actaun201159060217 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 59 (6) ◽

pp. 217-224 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Irena Marková ◽

Radek Pokorný

Keyword(s):

Norway Spruce ◽

Tree Height ◽

Dry Mass ◽

Stem Diameter ◽

Stem Volume ◽

Allometric Relationships ◽

Power Functions ◽

Biomass Expansion Factors ◽

Spruce Stands ◽

The One

This study falls into site-specific studies (here in the Drahanská vrchovina Highland) focusing on the determination of allometric relationships between the stem dendrometric and biomass parameters in young Norway spruce stands. The total aboveground biomass (TB) of a sampled tree with 14.9 m in height and 15.5 cm in stem diameter at 1.3 m (DBH) averaged to 110.3 kg. The stem biomass participated on average by 54 %, branch biomass by 24 % and needle biomass by 22 % on the TB of the sampled spruce tree. TB of the tree and the biomass of individual aboveground tree organs were predicted with the highest accuracy (over 91 %) from DBH or a stem diameter at the one tenth of the tree height using allometric-power functions. The stem diameters up to 70 % of the relative tree height predicted TB accurately (over 95 %) as well. The biomass expansion factors based on the stem volume expansion to TB of the tree, as well as the biomass of each of the aboveground tree organs did not show functional dependency on DBH.

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Restore and sequester: estimating biomass in native Australian woodland ecosystems for their carbon-funded restoration

Australian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1071/bt11018 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 59 (7) ◽

pp. 640 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

J. H. Jonson ◽

D. Freudenberger

Keyword(s):

Native Species ◽

Basal Area ◽

Tree Height ◽

Ground Level ◽

Stem Diameter ◽

Allometric Equations ◽

Total Biomass ◽

Tree Biomass ◽

Below Ground ◽

Total Tree

In the south-western region of Australia, allometric relationships between tree dimensional measurements and total tree biomass were developed for estimating carbon sequestered in native eucalypt woodlands. A total of 71 trees representing eight local native species from three genera were destructively sampled. Within this sample set, below ground measurements were included for 51 trees, enabling the development of allometric equations for total biomass applicable to small, medium, and large native trees. A diversity of tree dimensions were recorded and regressed against biomass, including stem diameter at 130 cm (DBH), stem diameter at ground level, stem diameter at 10 cm, stem diameter at 30 cm, total tree height, height of canopy break and mean canopy diameter. DBH was consistently highly correlated with above ground, below ground and total biomass. However, measurements of stem diameters at 0, 10 and 30 cm, and mean canopy diameter often displayed equivalent and at times greater correlation with tree biomass. Multi-species allometric equations were also developed, including ‘Mallee growth form’ and ‘all-eucalypt’ regressions. These equations were then applied to field inventory data collected from three locally dominant woodland types and eucalypt dominated environmental plantings to create robust relationships between biomass and stand basal area. This study contributes the predictive equations required to accurately quantify the carbon sequestered in native woodland ecosystems in the low rainfall region of south-western Australia.

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Comparison of interferometric and stereo-radargrammetric 3D metrics in mapping of forest resources

ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ◽

10.5194/isprsarchives-xl-7-w3-425-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol XL-7/W3 ◽

pp. 425-431

Author(s):

K. Karila ◽

M. Karjalainen ◽

X. Yu ◽

M. Vastaranta ◽

M. Holopainen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Forest Inventory ◽

Forest Canopy ◽

Basal Area ◽

Tree Height ◽

Forest Resources ◽

Canopy Height ◽

Stem Diameter ◽

Stem Volume ◽

Test Plot ◽

3D Data

Accurate forest resources maps are needed in diverse applications ranging from the local forest management to the global climate change research. In particular, it is important to have tools to map changes in forest resources, which helps us to understand the significance of the forest biomass changes in the global carbon cycle. In the task of mapping changes in forest resources for wide areas, Earth Observing satellites could play the key role. In 2013, an EU/FP7-Space funded project “Advanced_SAR” was started with the main objective to develop novel forest resources mapping methods based on the fusion of satellite based 3D measurements and in-situ field measurements of forests. During the summer 2014, an extensive field surveying campaign was carried out in the Evo test site, Southern Finland. Forest inventory attributes of mean tree height, basal area, mean stem diameter, stem volume, and biomass, were determined for 91 test plots having the size of 32 by 32 meters (1024 m<sup>2</sup>). Simultaneously, a comprehensive set of satellite and airborne data was collected. Satellite data also included a set of TanDEM-X (TDX) and TerraSAR-X (TSX) X-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, suitable for interferometric and stereo-radargrammetric processing to extract 3D elevation data representing the forest canopy. In the present study, we compared the accuracy of TDX InSAR and TSX stereo-radargrammetric derived 3D metrics in forest inventory attribute prediction. First, 3D data were extracted from TDX and TSX images. Then, 3D data were processed as elevations above the ground surface (forest canopy height values) using an accurate Digital Terrain Model (DTM) based on airborne laser scanning survey. Finally, 3D metrics were calculated from the canopy height values for each test plot and the 3D metrics were compared with the field reference data. The Random Forest method was used in the forest inventory attributes prediction. Based on the results InSAR showed slightly better performance in forest attribute (i.e. mean tree height, basal area, mean stem diameter, stem volume, and biomass) prediction than stereo-radargrammetry. The results were 20.1% and 28.6% in relative root mean square error (RMSE) for biomass prediction, for TDX and TSX respectively.

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Time trends in inheritance and projected efficiencies of early selection in a large 17-year-old progeny test of Pinusradiata

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x91-168 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 21 (8) ◽

pp. 1200-1207 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

J. N. King ◽

R. D. Burdon

Keyword(s):

Selection Criterion ◽

Basal Area ◽

Tree Height ◽

Stem Diameter ◽

Stem Volume ◽

Narrow Sense ◽

Narrow Sense Heritability ◽

Needle Penetration ◽

Expected Gain ◽

Partial Correlations

In an open-pollinated progeny trial of Pinusradiata D. Don, stem diameter assessments were cross-referenced for 410 families for ages 5, 10, and 17 years from planting. Also cross-referenced were Cyclaneusma needle cast (CYCLA) and wood density (PILO) measured by Pilodyn needle penetration. Estimated narrow-sense heritability for stem diameter declined mildly from 0.34 at age 5 to 0.25 at age 17. Estimated heritability of family means, however, only declined from 0.59 to 0.55. CYCLA and PILO gave, respectively, narrow-sense heritability estimates of 0.32 and 0.40, with repeatabilities of family means of 0.57 and 0.67. The genetic age-age correlations for stem diameter were all positive and somewhat higher than phenotypic (family-mean) age–age correlations. Such correlations indicated comparable or slightly slower rank changes among progeny families than had been reported previously for diameter, basal area, or stem volume in P. radiata and Pinustaeda L., but faster rank changes than the literature reports for tree height. A considerable contribution of CYCLA to rank changes in stem diameter was evident from path coefficients and partial correlations. PILO made no evident contribution to rank changes. Predicted gains for stem diameter at age 17 were almost maximal using year-10 data, while using CYCLA as an auxiliary selection criterion enhanced expected gain, particularly with selection at year 5. Predicted gains for stem diameter, with age–age correlations extrapolated according to the Lambeth relationship, indicated maximal gains per annum with selection at 7–8 years for rotations of 25–30 years.

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Estimation of Genetic Parameters and Wood Yield Selection Index in a Clonal Trial of Korean Pine (Pinus koraiensis) in Northeastern China

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13084167 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 4167

Author(s):

David Kombi Kaviriri ◽

Huan-Zhen Liu ◽

Xi-Yang Zhao

Keyword(s):

Selection Index ◽

Tree Height ◽

Stem Volume ◽

Korean Pine ◽

Branch Number ◽

Basal Diameter ◽

Diameter At Breast Height ◽

Breast Height ◽

Stem Straightness ◽

Clonal Trial

In order to determine suitable traits for selecting high-wood-yield Korean pine materials, eleven morphological characteristics (tree height, basal diameter, diameter at breast height, diameter at 3 meter height, stem straightness degree, crown breadth, crown height, branch angle, branch number per node, bark thickness, and stem volume) were investigated in a 38-year-old Korean pine clonal trial at Naozhi orchard. A statistical approach combining variance and regression analysis was used to extract appropriate traits for selecting elite clones. Results of variance analysis showed significant difference in variance sources in most of the traits, except for the stem straightness degree, which had a p-value of 0.94. Moderate to high coefficients of variation and clonal repeatability ranged from 10.73% to 35.45% and from 0.06% to 0.78%, respectively. Strong significant correlations on the phenotypic and genotypic levels were observed between the straightness traits and tree volume, but crown breadth was weakly correlated to the volume. Four principal components retaining up to 80% of the total variation were extracted, and stem volume, basal diameter, diameter at breast height, diameter at 3 meter height, tree height, and crown height displayed high correlation to these components (r ranged from 0.76 to 0.98). Based on the Type III sum of squares, tree height, diameter at breast height, and branch number showed significant information to explain the clonal variability based on stem volume. Using the extracted characteristics as the selection index, six clones (PK105, PK59, PK104, PK36, PK28, and K101) displayed the highest Qi values, with a selection rate of 5% corresponding to the genetic gain of 42.96% in stem volume. This study provides beneficial information for the selection of multiple traits for genetically improved genotypes of Korean pine.

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