Does Crown Class Classification Improve the Initiation and Development Analysis of Post-Fire Pinus Brutia Stands?

Abstract

The present study was conducted in Pinus brutia Ten. stands which were created after the forest fire of 1989, in the island of Thassos. In 2008, 45 plots of 5 x 5 m were randomly established in three site types. In each plot, the trees were counted, while the breast height diameter of trees was measured. All trees were classified as dominant, codominant, intermediate or suppressed. In each plot, one tree from each crown class was selected (a total of 160 trees) and were cut down. From each tree a cross-sectional disc was cut from the ground level and the number of annual growth rings was counted. A few years of age difference between trees in post fire establishment determined the crown class of a tree. The age difference and the number of trees were reduced from the less productive site type to the more productive site type. Codominant trees were (or will become) the crown class with the most numerous trees in the main canopy. Dominant trees were one of the most, if not the most, significant elements of stand structure and production regarding basal area. This was not the case in low productivity site type as a result of delayed dimension differentiation. Analysis of young P. brutia stands, through the classification of trees into crown classes, increased the amount of attained information, since it provided an improved insight in the competition regime. A CLASSIFICAÇÃO DA CLASSE DE COPA MELHORA A ANÁLISE DA INICIAÇÃO E DESENVOLVIMENTO DE TALHÕES DE PINUS BRUTIA APÓS OCORRENCIA DE FOGO?RESUMO: O presente estudo foi conduzido em talhões de Pinus brutia Ten. que foram criados após o incêndio florestal de 1989, na ilha de Thassos. Em 2008, 45 parcelas de 5 x 5 m foram estabelecidas aleatoriamente em três tipos de sítos. Em cada parcela, as árvores foram contadas e o diâmetro a altura do peito das árvores foi medido. Todas as árvores foram classificadas como dominantes, codominantes, intermediárias ou suprimidas. Em cada parcela, uma árvore de cada classe de copa foi selecionada (um total de 160 árvores) e cortada. De cada árvore foi cortado um disco transversal no nível do solo e contado o número de anéis de crescimento. Uma diferença de alguns anos de idade entre as árvores após o estabelecimento pós-fogo determinou a classe de copa da árvore. A diferença de idade e o número de árvores foram reduzidos do sítio menos produtivo para o mais produtivo. As árvores codominantes foram (ou se tornarão) a classe de copa com mais árvores no dossel principal. As árvores dominantes foram um dos elementos mais significativos, se não o mais significativo, da estrutura e produção do talhão em relação à área basal. Este não foi o caso no sítio de baixa produtividade devido ao atrazo da diferenciação do tamanho das árvores. A análise dos povoamentos jovens de P. brutia, através da classificação das árvores em classes de copa, aumentou a quantidade de informação obtida, uma vez que proporcionou uma melhor percepção do regime de competição.

Assessing Forest Vitality and Forest Structure Using 3D Data: A Case Study From the Hainich National Park, Germany

“…The third class includes trees that are not in touch with the leading crown layer and that are therefore suppressed trees. This classification is based on a standardized procedure in forest science (e.g., Bountis and Milios, 2017).…”

Allometric Models for Estimating the Height of Robinia pseudoacacia L. in Restoration Plantations

“…In both cases of estimation (total height estimation via age and bole height estimation via diameter), the estimated surfaces do not intersect (Figures 3 and 4), indicating compatibility of the models estimating the total height and bole height. Thus, the developed models provide accurate estimations of total and bole height of dominant trees in the studied and in analogues sites plantations and can be used as a tool for the better understanding and analysis of stand structure of the species formations [53,54] in degraded sites.…”

Species and Competition Interact to Influence Seasonal Stem Growth in Temperate Eucalypts

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