Site index curves for forest tree species in the eastern United States.

Carmean, Willard H.; Hahn, Jerold T.; Jacobs, Rodney D.

doi:10.2737/nc-gtr-128

Cited by 131 publications

(70 citation statements)

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“…Once an average SI was calculated at each site for northern red oak, white oak, and tulip poplar, this number was used to estimate the height of trees from 1 to years of age. To calculate the estimated height for each year, the formulation equation from Carmean et al [32] was used:…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Site index (SI) is defined as the total height of a specific species of tree at 50 years of age. It is a standard measure used throughout the world as an estimate of the relative productivity of forest land, which is calculated from height measurements of free-growing, uninjured, dominant, and co-dominant trees in a fully stocked stand [32,33]. Site index curves are specific to species, geographic region, and the soil and/or topography [34].…”

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confidence: 99%

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Early Tree Growth in Reclaimed Mine Soils in Appalachia USA

Dallaire¹,

Skousen

2019

Forests

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Surface mining disturbs hundreds of hectares of land every year in many areas of the world, thereby altering valuable, ecologically-diverse forests. Reforestation of these areas after mining helps to restore ecosystem functions and land value. In Appalachia, native topsoil is normally replaced on the surface during reclamation, but waivers allow for brown and gray sandstone materials to be used as topsoil substitutes. Numerous studies report the growth of trees in these substitute mine soil materials, but few studies have compared the height of trees grown in reclaimed mine soils to the heights of trees grown in native soils. This study determined the growth of red oak (Q. rubra L.), white oak (Quercus alba L.), and tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.) in two mine soil types which were compared to projected growth in native soils. Heights of tree seedlings in native soils at 11 years were estimated from site indices (SI) from USDA Soil Survey data. At the mine sites, areas with brown and gray mine soils (one site with a mulch treatment) had 12 tree species planted and growth was measured annually for 11 years. Mine soil pH after 11 years was 5.3 for brown mine soils, 6.6 for gray mine soils, 7.0 for mulched mine soils, and 4.1 to 5.2 for native forest soils. After 11 years, tree heights in gray mine soils were significantly lower (0.5 m) than tree heights in brown mine soils (2.8 to 4 m) for all three species. Trees in mulched mine soils were up to 0.7 m taller than trees in un-mulched brown mine soils. After 11 years, red oak height was 6.3 m in native soils and 3 m in brown and mulched mine soils (52% lower); white oak was 7.3 m tall in native soils compared to 3.6 m in brown mine soils (50% lower); and tulip poplar was 11.5 m tall in native soils and 3.5 to 4 m tall in brown and mulched mine soils (70% lower). In gray mine soils, trees were not growing at all. While the trees in brown mine soils are growing, tree growth has not reached projected levels of tree growth in native soils during the first 11 years after planting. The purpose of forestry reclamation is to restore ecosystem diversity and function. This study showed that one measure of ecosystem function, tree growth, was 50% lower on reclaimed mine soils than native forest soils. Maturing mine soils may develop properties over time that are similar to native soils and, with the increased rooting depth, may provide conditions where increased tree growth rates and height may be attained during the next several decades.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Early Tree Growth in Reclaimed Mine Soils in Appalachia USA

Dallaire¹,

Skousen

2019

Forests

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“…Under the assumption that all plots were growing in similar site conditions, we set aspen as the site species, and fitted an available site index curve (Equation 2: Carmean et al 1989) on height-age measurements in dominant and codominant aspen trees (i.e., DBH rank <5) of the calibration dataset:…”

Section: Calibration Of Fvs Submodelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…where HT is tree height, SI is species site index at age 50 fitted by nonlinear regression, and b 1 -b 6 are aspen coefficients from Carmean et al (1989). Site index for birch was handled by FVS-NE default site index conversions, using grey birch as a surrogate species.…”

Section: Calibration Of Fvs Submodelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Calibrating and Testing the Forest Vegetation Simulator to Simulate Tree Encroachment and Control Measures for Heathland Restoration in Southern Europe

Vacchiano¹,

Motta²,

Bovio³

et al. 2014

Forest Science

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We used the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) to simulate tree encroachment and tree control measures in a continental heathland in Southern Europe, where the goal is the conservation of Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull.We selected as management target a maximum basal area of 4.6 m 2 ha -1 , corresponding to a minimum Calluna cover of 25%, and modeled stand dynamics along a 50-year period under 3 management scenarios: 1) no management, 2) low-frequency prescribed burning, and 3) low-frequency prescribed burning followed by annual grazing. We initialized and calibrated the Northeastern variant of FVS with data measured in the field, and the Fire and Fuel Extension (FFE) with additional data from a prescribed burning experiment. We carried out most of the calibration by multipliers, including a novel way to simulate the impact of grazing on shoot height and survival. In order to simulate fire behavior, we designed a custom fire behavior fuel model for heath fuels. Successful validation of simulated stand-scale attributes and post-fire mortality was carried out using equivalence testing. Model projections showed that stand basal area would exceed the target threshold under both the no-management and the prescribed burning scenario, 5 and 10 years into the simulation respectively. Conversely, prescribed burning followed by yearly grazing successfully controlled encroaching trees throughout the simulation, by keeping their basal area below the threshold associated to the maintenance of the heathland cultural landscape.

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“…Figure 14-Cherrybark oak (Quercus pagoda) site index equation and site curves used by Southern Research Station Forest Inventory and Analysis, where SI = site index, A = total age of tree, H = total height, and e = base of the natural logarithms(Carmean and others 1989, which cites Broadfoot 1961 as the original data source).…”

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confidence: 99%

Site class and site index: two estimates of site quality for the Southern Research Station Forest Inventory and Analysis Program

Vissage¹,

Greer²,

Brandeis³

2019

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Information on site quality, the capacity of forested land to grow wood, is an important component in forest inventories. Site index and site class are two variables that describe forest site quality. Site index is usually defined as the average total height that the dominant and codominant trees in fully stocked, even-aged stands will attain at key ages. Site class is a classification of forest land in terms of the capacity to grow repeated crops of industrial wood. This classification is based on the maximum mean annual increment, in cubic feet per acre, of natural, well-stocked, even-aged stands of species suitable to the local site. This paper documents and describes the equations, methods, and data used by the Forest Inventory and Analysis program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station, to estimate site index and site class for forest inventories conducted in the Southern United States.

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Site index curves for forest tree species in the eastern United States.

Cited by 131 publications

References 0 publications

Early Tree Growth in Reclaimed Mine Soils in Appalachia USA

Early Tree Growth in Reclaimed Mine Soils in Appalachia USA

Calibrating and Testing the Forest Vegetation Simulator to Simulate Tree Encroachment and Control Measures for Heathland Restoration in Southern Europe

Site class and site index: two estimates of site quality for the Southern Research Station Forest Inventory and Analysis Program

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