A rapid method for estimating the median diameter of the stem profile of Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst) trees

doi:10.3832/ifor1945-009

A rapid method for estimating the median diameter of the stem profile of Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst) trees

Maria Magdalena Vasilescu , Cornel Cristian Teresneu, Florin Dinulica

iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry, Volume 10, Issue 1, Pages 328-333 (2017)
doi: https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor1945-009
Published: Feb 11, 2017 - Copyright © 2017 SISEF

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The median diameter of a longitudinal section of the stem may be used to determine the stem volume. However, to calculate stem volume, many measurements of diameter at different heights along the stem are required. Therefore, this approach is not generally applied because time-consuming and expensive. Here, we propose a novel, more rapid method to obtain median diameter using the area of the stem profile. A total of 218 height/diameter classes from more than 5000 spruce trees (Picea abies Karst.) were used to compute the median diameter using the classical method. In parallel, a regression model to assess the median diameter was developed. The strongest predictor of the median diameter for the stem profile was the diameter at breast height (R²= 0.9985). Statistical analysis revealed that the height of the median diameter on the stem profile was 0.3 × H (tree height). The model was verified on standing and felled trees, revealing that differences between classical computations and the proposed model were less than 2% in most cases (86.24% of trees). The median diameter of the stem profile provides valuable information on stand architecture that could help in advancing our understanding on the mechanical stability of Norway spruce trees (i.e., delineating breakage point), growth model predictions, and competition among trees.

Keywords

Forest Mensuration, Median Diameter, Stem, Structure, Tree Stability

Authors’ address

(1)

Department of Forest Engineering, Forest Management Planning and Terrestrial Measurements, Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, Sirul Beethoven 1, 500123, Brasov (Romania)

Corresponding author

Maria Magdalena Vasilescu
vasilescumm@unitbv.ro

Citation

Vasilescu MM, Teresneu CC, Dinulica F (2017). A rapid method for estimating the median diameter of the stem profile of Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst) trees. iForest 10: 328-333. - doi: 10.3832/ifor1945-009

Academic Editor

Emanuele Lingua

Paper history

Received: Dec 12, 2015
Accepted: Sep 07, 2016

First online: Feb 11, 2017
Publication Date: Feb 28, 2017
Publication Time: 5.23 months

Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

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