International Scientific Journal on Reforestation, Afforestation and Tree Reproduction
Sign in
Issue image

More articles from Issue 16, 2023

Implications of incorrectly determining site index on stand-level management activities and financial returns in older generation loblolly pine plantations

Responses at the stand and tree level to ice storm injuries in beech forests in eastern Serbia

Assessment of carbon sequestration of Teak (Tectona grandis Linn. F.) plantation on the campus of University of Ilorin, Nigeria

Effects of Eucalyptus species on soil physicochemical properties in Ruhande Arboretum, Rwanda

Monitoring of groundwater level fluctuations at flooded area of lowland forests of the Sava River (Serbia)

Citations

Crossref Logo

1

Crossref Logo

Curtis L. VanderSchaaf

(2024)

Currently Available Site Index Equations That Use On-Site Tree Measurements for Naturally Regenerated Longleaf Pine in Its Historical Range

Forests, 15(5)

10.3390/f15050855

Implications of incorrectly determining site index on stand-level management activities and financial returns in older generation loblolly pine plantations

Curtis VanderSchaaf
Curtis VanderSchaaf
View authors publications

Search this author on:

PubMed | Google Scholar

Published: 01.12.2022.

Volume 0, Issue 16 (2023)

pp. 1-15;

https://doi.org/10.21750/refor.16.01.106

Abstract

Predicting future yields normally requires an estimate of site quality.  A commonly used measure is site index (SI). SI is often incorrectly quantified operationally due to the ambiguity associated with selecting “site” trees.  Plus, error in the measurement of height itself occurs.  This study quantifies the impacts on the number and timing of thinnings, and the final harvest ages, as well as financial returns when incorrectly determining SI.  Three values of SI (base age 25 years) were examined using two older generation loblolly pine plantation growth and yield simulation models from the Western Gulf, USA; 16.76 m, 21.34 m, and 25.91 m.  Firstly, a particular SI was assumed to be the “true” value, growth and yield estimates were obtained, and financial assessments were conducted.  The same process was then conducted again, but assuming that the SI was incorrectly determined by varying positively and negatively the SI by up to 1.22 m from the assumed “true” value. For these older generation plantations, incorrectly determining SI did impact the age of the first thinning by as much as 5 years.  In some cases, errors of +/- 1.22 m in SI estimation had little impact on the estimated timing of the first thinning.  Errors in SI of up to +/- 1.22 m had little impact on the number of thinnings across economic rotation ages. For both unthinned and twice-thinned stands, final harvest (clearcut) ages differed by as much as 4 years for SI errors up to +/- 1.22 m.  These errors led to differences in Land Expectation Value (LEV) up to $406.50 ha-1.  Across the three SI (16.76, 21.34, and 25.91 m), differences in LEV ranged from $237.49 to $406.50 ha-1.  These differences in LEV could be enough to incorrectly not conduct, or incorrectly conduct, a silvicultural operation such as an herbicide treatment or a fertilization treatment across a rotation, among other treatments.

References

Akers, M. K., Kane, M., Zhao, D., Teskey, R. O., & Daniels, R. F. (2013). Effects of planting density and cultural intensity on stand and crown attributes of mid-rotation loblolly pine plantations. Forest Ecology and Management, 310, 468–475. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2013.07.062
Amateis, R. L., & Burkhart, H. E. (1985). Site Index Curves for Loblolly Pine Plantations on Cutover Site-Prepared Lands. Southern Journal of Applied Forestry, 9(3), 166–169. https://doi.org/10.1093/sjaf/9.3.166
Antón-Fernández, C., Burkhart, H. E., Strub, M., & Amateis, R. L. (2011). Effects of Initial Spacing on Height Development of Loblolly Pine. Forest Science, 57(3), 201–211. https://doi.org/10.1093/forestscience/57.3.201
Borders, B. E., Harrison, W. M., Clutter, M. L., Shiver, B. D., & Souter, R. A. (2008). The value of timber inventory information for management planning. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 38(8), 2287–2294. https://doi.org/10.1139/X08-075
Burkhart, H. E., Avery, T. E., & Bullock, B. P. (2019). Forest Measurements. 434.

Citation

Copyright

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Article metrics

Google scholar: See link

The statements, opinions and data contained in the journal are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publisher and the editor(s). We stay neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Most read articles