Relative efficiency of projecting basal area and height versus projecting volume in a plantation planning system

Abstract

Summary Growth models are developed for unthinned stands of radiata pine in the south-east of South Australia using data from the Permanent Sample Plots maintained over many years by the Woods and Forests Department, now Forestry SA. The data base is one of the few that can be used to investigate whether it is better to project basal area and height separately or project volume directly in a plantation planning system. It is concluded that it is marginally more accurate to predict volume growth than it is to predict basal area growth and upper stand height growth before converting to volume. The latter approach is most commonly used in forest management planning in Australasia and elsewhere.