Development of ecoregion-based merchantable volume systems for Pinus brutia Ten. and Pinus nigra Arnold. in southern Turkey

• Published in: Journal of forestry research Vol. 27; no. 1; pp. 101 - 117
• Main Author: Ramazan Ozcelik Yasin Karatepe Nevzat Gurlevik Isabel Caneilas Felipe Crecente-Campo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Harbin Northeast Forestry University 01-02-2016; Springer
• Subjects: Analysis; autocorrelation; Biomedical and Life Sciences; ecoregions; Environmental protection; equations; forest growth; Forest management; Forestry; Life Sciences; Original Paper; Pinus brutia; Pinus nigra; prediction; sustainable forestry; trees; 出材量; 削度方程; 基础; 开发区; 火鸡; 系统; 高度估计; 黑松; Taper function; Brutian pine; Segmented model; Pinaceae; Black pine; Ecoregion
• ISSN: 1007-662X; 1993-0607
• DOI: 10.1007/s11676-015-0147-4

Estimating individual tree volume is one of the essential building blocks in forest growth and yield models. Ecologically based taper equations provide accurate vol- ume predictions and allow classification by mer- chantable sizes, assisting in sustainable forest management. In the present study, ecoregion-based compatible volume systems for brutian pine and black pine in the three ecoregions of southern Turkey were developed. Several well-known taper functions were evaluated. A second- order continuous-time autoregressive error structure was used to correct the inherent autocorrelation in the hierar- chical data, allowing the model to be applied to irregularly spaced and unbalanced data. The compatible segmented model of Fang et al. （For Sci 46：1-12, 2000） best described the experimental data. It is therefore recommended for estimating diameter at a specific height, height to a specific diameter, merchantable volume, and total volume for the three ecoregions and two species analyzed. The nonlinearextra sum of squares method indicated differences in ecoregion and tree-specific taper functions. A different taper function should therefore be used for each pine spe- cies and ecoregion in southern Turkey. Using ecoregion- specific taper equations allows making more robust esti- mations and, therefore, will enhance the accuracy of diameter at different heights and volume predictions.