Modeling jack pine branch characteristics in Eastern Canada

Beaulieu, Eric; Schneider, Robert; Berninger, Frank; Ung, Chhun-Huor; Swift, D. Edwin

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2011.06.054

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Light penetration in the plantation with the widest spacing lengthened the survival of the lower branches so that their diameter and axial growth continued over a longer time span [3,52,55]. Branches in the lower crown have been reported to be dependent on local competition and the upper branches are more related to factors such as climate and site fertility [56].…”

Section: Spacing and Tree Growthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Tree Spacing on Tree Level Volume Growth, Morphology, and Wood Properties in a 25-Year-Old Pinus banksiana Plantation in the Boreal Forest of Quebec

Hébert

Krause

Plourde

et al. 2016

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:The number of planted trees per hectare influences individual volume growth, which in turn can affect wood properties. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of six different plantation spacings of jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) 25 years following planting on tree growth, morphology, and wood properties. Stem analyses were performed to calculate annual and cumulative diameter, height, and volume growth. For morphological and wood property measurements several parameters were analyzed: diameter of the largest branch, live crown ratio, wood density, and the moduli of elasticity and rupture on small clear samples. The highest volume growth for individual trees was obtained in the 1111 trees/ha plantation, while the lowest was in the 4444 trees/ha plantation. Wood density and the moduli of elasticity and rupture did not change significantly between the six plantation spacings, but the largest branch diameter was significantly higher in the 1111 trees/ha (3.26 cm mean diameter) compared with the 4444 trees/ha spacing (2.03 cm mean diameter). Based on this study, a wide range of spacing induced little negative effect on the measured wood properties, except for the size of knots. Increasing the initial spacing of jack pine plantations appears to be a good choice if producing large, fast-growing stems is the primary goal, but lumber mechanical and visual properties could be decreased due to the larger branch diameter.

show abstract

Section: Spacing and Tree Growthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Tree Spacing on Tree Level Volume Growth, Morphology, and Wood Properties in a 25-Year-Old Pinus banksiana Plantation in the Boreal Forest of Quebec

Hébert

Krause

Plourde

et al. 2016

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Don.] (Woollons et al 2002), jack pine [Pinus banksiana Lamb] (Beaulieu et al 2011), Douglas-fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco] (Weiskittel et al 2007;Hein et al 2008), Scots pine [Pinus sylvestris L.] (Mäkinen 1996;Mäkelä and Vanninen 2001), white spruce [Picea glauca (Moench) Voss] (Sattler et al 2014) and Dahurian larch [Larix gmelinii (Rupr.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To date, most of these models are simple linear or nonlinear functions of the relative or absolute branch depth into the crown (RDINC or DINC; as show in Fig. 1), estimated using ordinary linear or nonlinear least squares techniques (Kantola and Mäkelä 2004;Beaulieu et al 2011;Barbeito et al 2014). Data for branch characteristics studies generally involve multiple measurements of trees growing in different stands or regions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonlinear mixed-effects branch diameter and length models for natural Dahurian larch (Larix gmelini) forest in northeast China

Dong

Liu

Bettinger

2016

Trees

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Key message We developed the generalized branch diameter and length models using the multi-level nonlinear mixed-effects techniques for the natural Dahurian larch (Larix gmelini) forest in northeast China. Abstract Dahurian larch (Larix gmelini) is the most commercially cultivated timber species in northeastern China due to its ecological prevalence and its superior wood attribute. However, its timber quality was largely driven by the crown architecture, i.e., the number, size and distribution of branches. The majority of branch-level models in the literature are focused on planted forests, which have substantially different crown architecture than that grown in natural mixed forests. Therefore, the goal of this investigation was to develop branch diameter and length models for Dahurian larch that are grown in natural mixed forests. A multi-level nonlinear mixed-effects model technique, including the fixed-effects, random-effects, variance functions and correlation structures, was employed to develop the branch growth models. The results suggested that the cumulative branch diameter and length were both increased with the increases of branch depth into the crown. Diameter at breast height (DBH) had significant positive influences on the branch size; however, tree height (HT) produced negative influences on the branch size, i.e., larger DBH and smaller HT could lead to larger branch size. Model fitting and validation results confirmed that we should avoid developing over-complex models from the perspective of application. As for the branch diameter and length models in our study, addressing the stand and tree level effects as random component were quite reliable and accurate for predicting the branch growth process of Dahurian larch in northeastern China.

show abstract

“…Black spruce produces numerous small branches that rapidly bend towards the ground as their diameter increases (Bégin and Filion 1999), whereas jack pine produces fewer but larger branches that maintain a more vertical orientation over a longer period of time (Plourde et al 2009). In addition, black spruce produces several nodal and internodal branches (Benjamin et al 2009), whereas jack pine produces fewer but larger nodal branches and only a limited number of internodal branches (Beaulieu et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling knot morphology as a function of external tree and branch attributes

Duchâteau

Longuetaud²,

Mothe³

et al. 2013

Can. J. For. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Existing models for describing knot morphology are typically based on polynomial functions with parameters that are often not biologically interpretable. Hence, they are difficult to integrate into tree growth simulators due to the limited possibilities for linking knot shape to external branch and tree characteristics. X-ray computed tomography (CT) images taken along the stems of 16 jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) trees and 32 black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) trees were used to extract the three-dimensional shape of 3450 and 11 276 knots from each species, respectively. Using a nonlinear approach, we firstly fitted a model of knot geometry adapted from a Weibull function. Separate equations were used to describe both the curvature and the diameter of the knot along its pith. Combining these two equations gave an accurate representation of knot shape using only five parameters. Secondly, to facilitate the integration of the resulting model into a tree growth simulator, we extracted the parameters obtained for each knot and modelled them as functions of external branch and tree characteristics (e.g., branch diameter, insertion angle, position in the stem, tree height, and stem diameter). When fitted to a separate data set, the model residuals of the black spruce knot curvature equation were less than 2.9 mm in any part of the knot profile for 75% of the observations. The corresponding value from the diameter equation was 2.8 mm. In jack pine, these statistics increased to 5.4 mm and 3.2 mm, respectively. Overall, the ability to predict knot attributes from external tree-and branch-level variables has the potential to improve the simulation of internal stem properties.Résumé : Les modèles utilisés actuellement pour décrire la morphologie des noeuds sont généralement basés sur des fonctions polynomiales dont les paramètres sont difficilement interprétables. Ainsi, ils sont difficiles à intégrer dans les simulateurs de croissance en raison de la difficulté à relier la forme des noeuds et les caractéristiques externes des branches et des arbres. Des images de tomographie à rayons-X le long des tiges de 16 pins gris (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) et de 32 épinettes noires (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) ont été utilisées pour extraire, respectivement pour chaque espèce, la forme tridimensionnelle de 3450 et 11 276 noeuds. Dans un premier temps, nous avons utilisé une approche de modélisation non linéaire basée sur une fonction de Weibull afin de décrire la géométrie de chaque noeud. Des équations distinctes ont été utilisées afin de décrire à la fois l'évolution de la courbure et du diamètre du noeud de la moelle à l'écorce. Cette combinaison de deux équations a permis une représentation exacte de la forme noeud en utilisant seulement cinq paramètres. Dans un second temps, les paramètres obtenus pour chacun des noeuds ont été extraits et modélisés en fonction des caractéristiques externes de la branche et de l'arbre (p. ex. le diamètre de la branche, l'angle d'inclinaison, la position dans la tige, la hauteur et le ...

show abstract

Modeling jack pine branch characteristics in Eastern Canada

Cited by 15 publications

References 33 publications

Effect of Tree Spacing on Tree Level Volume Growth, Morphology, and Wood Properties in a 25-Year-Old Pinus banksiana Plantation in the Boreal Forest of Quebec

Effect of Tree Spacing on Tree Level Volume Growth, Morphology, and Wood Properties in a 25-Year-Old Pinus banksiana Plantation in the Boreal Forest of Quebec

Nonlinear mixed-effects branch diameter and length models for natural Dahurian larch (Larix gmelini) forest in northeast China

Modelling knot morphology as a function of external tree and branch attributes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About