StemAnalysis: An R-package for reconstructing tree growth and carbon accumulation with stem analysis data

Abstract

1. Accurate information about age dynamics of timber production and carbon storage in forest ecosystems is frequently required by scientists, stakeholders, and policymakers. However, we lack standardized tools to calculate tree growth dynamics, even though this could be obtained by combining typical tree inventory, allometry and stem analysis data.2. Here we present an integrated R package, StemAnalysis, designed to reconstruct stem growth profiles, construct height-diameter relationships, and consequently to compute growth trends in terms of diameter at breast height (DBH), tree height, stem volume, tree biomass and carbon for an individual tree.3. StemAnalysis performs a number of standard tasks on input stem analysis data: (i) age class determination; (ii) the cumulative growth, mean annual increment, and current annual increment of outside-bark DBH, tree height, and stem volume are estimated; (iii) height-diameter relationship is fitted with nonlinear models; and (iv) tree biomass and carbon storage estimation from allometric and volume models are calculated. These tasks can be performed optionally.4. StemAnalysis provides investigators with a set of procedures for exploring tree growth patterns, thereby contributing to the ongoing development of forest multifunctional management sciences.