Treesearch

High-speed networks connecting multiple levels of management are becoming commonplace among forest resources organizations. Such networks can be used to deliver timely spatial and aspatial data relevant to the management of stands to field personnel. A network infrastructure allows maintenance of cost-effective, centralized databases with the potential for updating by distributed personnel. Using networks as a delivery medium also opens up the possibility for inexpensive sharing of data with relevant persons outside the organization: for example, the general public for a state agency. The...

The paper describes results from a large program for quality control of forest measurements. The performance of 87 surveyors was evaluated. Tree heights were usually measured well, whereas the counting of tree-rings on increment cores was a source of considerable bias for many surveyors. During tree count on sample plots, many surveyors had a tendency to forget trees, especially small trees. A conclusion of the study is that control surveys are justified. The control should be continuous during the field season, making it possible to detect inferior quality of work at an early stage.

Resource managers are beginning to experience a deluge of management conflicts as urban population centers expand into formerly wildland settings. Fire suppression, recreational, watershed management, and traditional forest management practices are activities that have become contentious in many locales. A better understanding of the interface zone between these two types of land is important if managers are to successfully maintain the values of such lands. A pragmatic model for defining the urban-wildland interface for LeFlore County, Oklahoma, was developed, allowing identification of...

The measurements of electrical resistance of near-cambium tissues, selected biometric features of needles and shoots, and the annual radial increment as well as visual estimates of crown defoliation were performed on about 100 Norway spruce trees in three 60- to 70-year-old stands located in the Western Sudety Mountains. The defoliation, electrical resistance, and length of an individual shoot were classified as least reliable and of lowest diagnostic usability out of 17 parameters tested as estimates of tree health. In contrast, coefficients such as dry mass of one needle and dry mass of...

The biomass of steins, leaves, and branches was determined for 152 sample trees of Acacia mangium Willd were in a 7-year-old experimental plantation in Botucatu, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. After felling, dimensional measurements were taken from each tree. Cross sections were collected in 125 sample trees at ground level (0 percent), 25 percent, 50 percent, 75 percent and at the merchantable diameter top of 4 cm outside bark (100 percent).

The study presented in this paper is part of a project to monitor the defoliation degree of cork and holm oak trees in stands with signs of "decline," alter application of different amounts of Aliette, a product specific for Phytophotora cinnamonii, one of the possible causes of the "decline". The specific objective was to validate a qualitative classification of the degree of defoliation of cork and holm oak trees.

Cut-off importance sampling has recently been introduced as a technique for estimating bole volume to some point below the tree tip, termed the cut-off point. A field test of this technique was conducted on a small population of eastern white pine trees using dendrometry as the standard for volume estimation. Results showed that the differences in volume estimates between the techniques were generally within acceptable limits.

During the development of the B.C. Vegetation Resources Inventory, it was recognized that success would depend on the ability to implement and actually carry out the design. It was accepted that a training program would be an integral component of the inventory process. A formal process tied to basic principles of committee structure and recognition of work well done has provided a modular, competency-based program. To date, over 80 timber and ecology specialists have been trained and 60 have been certified. The program provides a means of developing and maintaining technical competency,...

Tree volumes and profiles are often estimated as functions of total height and DBH. Alternative estimators include form-class methods, importance sampling, the centroid method, and multi-point profile (taper) estimation systems; all of these require some measurement or estimate of upper stem diameters. The multi-point profile system discussed here allows for upper stem measurements at any heights and constructs a smooth profile prediction that passes through all measurement points. Results from a cruise sample of trees can be summarized to allow for improved profile predictions for the...

Predicting the distribution of preferable biophysical sites for three of the favored plantation species - Araucaria cunninghamii, Eucalyptus cloeziana, and Flindersia brayleyana is necessary for private land rehabilitation in tropical north Queensland. The distribution of these predicted sites is expressed in a spatial and quantitative form. Sites are characterized by soil and terrain qualities, within known climatic parameters, using spatial analytical techniques afforded by the predictive capacity of digital terrain models (DTM's) and conceptual regolith-terrain relationships in an...