Individual Tree Diameter and Height Growth Models for 30 Tree Species in Mixed-Species and Uneven-Aged Forests of Mexico

Jaime Briseño-Reyes,José Javier Corral-Rivas,Carlos Antonio López-Sánchez,Pablito Marcelo López-Serrano,Gerónimo Quiñonez-Barraza,Daniel José Vega-Nieva,Jaime Roberto Padilla-Martínez,Benedicto Vargas-Larreta,Raúl Solis-Moreno,Ulises Diéguez-Aranda

doi:10.3390/f11040429

Abstract

Lack of knowledge of individual tree growth in species-rich, mixed forest ecosystems impedes their sustainable management. In this study, species-specific models for predicting individual diameter at breast height (dbh) and total tree height (h) growth were developed for 30 tree species growing in mixed and uneven-aged forest stands in Durango, Mexico. Growth models were also developed for all pine, all oaks, and all other species of the genus Arbutus (strawberry trees). A database of 55,158 trees with remeasurements of dbh and h of a 5-year growth period was used to develop the models. The data were collected from 217 stem-mapped plots located in the Sierra Madre Occidental (Mexico). Weighted regression was used to remove heteroscedasticity from the species-specific dbh and h growth models using a power function of the tree size independent variables. The final models developed in the present study to predict dbh and total tree height growth included size variables, site factors, and competition variables in their formulation. The developed models fitted the data well and explained between 98 and 99% and of the observed variation of dbh, and between 77 and 98% of the observed variation of total tree height for the studied species and groups of species. The developed models can be used for estimating the individual dbh and h growth for the analyzed species and can be integrated in decision support tools for management planning in these mixed forest ecosystems.

Highlights

Accurate estimates of both current resource levels and the expected resource changes from implementing selected management alternatives are needed to develop tools to support forest management informed decision-making (e.g., [1])
The term H0 was positive in all species except for Pinus engelmannii and Quercus arizonica, resulting in increasing diameter with increasing stand dominant height
Coefficient a3 multiplying the BAL competition index was negative in all species except for Pinus engelmannii and P. herrerae, indicating a decrease in diameter growth as individual tree competition increases

Summary

Introduction

Accurate estimates of both current resource levels and the expected resource changes from implementing selected management alternatives are needed to develop tools to support forest management informed decision-making (e.g., [1]). Forest growth models describe the change in size of a tree or another tree attribute or stand-level variable with age They are used to analyze and estimate different relationships in forest stand development such as species composition, site characteristics, tree competitive status, and silvicultural management (e.g., [2,3,4]). Individual-tree diameter and height growth models are a fundamental component of forest growth and yield frameworks and constitute very important tools for sustainable forest management planning [5,7] Many factors such as tree size, neighborhood competition and environmental variables, have been proposed as being important in explaining patterns of tree growth, their relative contribution for different species and ecosystems are still subject to debate (e.g., [5,13,14,15]). Improving our knowledge of the controls influencing tree growth is central to better understand forest community organization and dynamics [15], and is important to the development of sustainable management of forest ecosystems [16]

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