Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Modelling Continuous Cover Forests

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Continuous Cover Forestry

Part of the book series: Managing Forest Ecosystems ((MAFE,volume 23))

Abstract

Many well established techniques such as yield tables and age-based growth models are not applicable in continuous cover forestry (CCF). A further complexity in CCF is the need to predict regeneration. It is possible to model CCF using stand-based approaches such as transition matrices and stand table projection but the utility of these approaches is limited. Individual-based approaches are the most promising and may take two forms: cohort-based and single-tree models. While the utility and limitations of site indices based on age and dominant height is well established for plantation situations, there is no dominant paradigm for dealing with site productivity in stands managed as CCF. Alternatives include dendrometric approaches, indicator species and site descriptors such as elevation, slope and soil depth. In even-aged forests, the self-thinning line provides an effective way to estimate mortality in forest stands, but the concept is of limited utility in CCF. With CCF, the best option is to predict individual-tree survival from the resources deemed to be available to each tree. Fertile areas for further research include site productivity assessment and the modelling of regeneration and species interactions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 279.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 279.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Almeida AC, Landsberg JJ, Sands PJ (2004) Parameterisation of 3-PG model for fast-growing Eucalyptus grandis plantations. For Ecol Manag 193:179–195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arney JD (1985) A modeling strategy for the growth projection of managed stands. Can J For Res 15:511–518

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ball IR, Lindenmayer DB, Possingham HP (1999) A tree hollow dynamics simulation model. For Ecol Manag 123:179–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Battaglia M, Sands P (1998) Process-based forest productivity models and their application in forest management. For Ecol Manag 102:13–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bergès L, Gégout J-C, Franc A (2006) Can understory vegetation accurately predict site index? A comparative study using floristic and abiotic indices in sessile oak (Quercus petraea Liebl.) stands in northern France. Ann For Sci 63:31–42

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertalanffy Lv (1942) Theoretische Biologie, Band II. Borntraeger, 2nd edn.. Franke, Bern, 1951, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Bigler C, Bugmann H (2004) Assessing the performance of theoretical and empirical tree mortality models using tree-ring series of Norway spruce. Ecol Model 174:225–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Binkley CS (1980) Is succession in hardwood forests a stationary Markov process? For Sci 26: 566–570

    Google Scholar 

  • Blanco JA, Kimmins JP (2009) The simulation of allelopathy in ecosystem-level forest models: a study case in the Pacific Northwest. In: Dykstra DP, Monserud RA (eds) Forest growth and timber quality: crown models and simulation methods for sustainable forest management. Proceedings of an international conference, Portland, Oregon, 7–10 August 2007. General Technical Report – Pacific Northwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service 2009 No. PNW-GTR-791, pp 219–223

    Google Scholar 

  • Bosch CA (1971) Redwoods: a population model. Science 172:345–349

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Botkin DB, Janak JF, Wallis JR (1972) Some ecological consequences of a computer model of forest growth. J Ecol 60:849–872

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowman DMJS, Kirkpatrick JB (1986) Establishment, suppression and growth of eucalyptus delegatensis R.T. Baker in multiaged forests. II. Sapling growth and its environmental correlates. Aust J Bot 34:73–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bristow M, Vanclay JK, Brooks L, Hunt M (2006) Growth and species interactions of Eucalyptus pellita in a mixed and monoculture plantation in the humid tropics of north Queensland. For Ecol Manag 233:285–294

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buongiorno J, Michie BR (1980) A matrix model of uneven-aged forest management. For Sci 26(4):609–625

    Google Scholar 

  • Congleton WR, Pearce BR, Beal BF (1997) A C++ implementation of an individual/landscape model. Ecol Model 103:1–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coops NC, Waring RH, Beier C, Roy-Jauvin R, Wang T (2011) Modeling the occurrence of 15 coniferous tree species throughout the Pacific Northwest of North America using a hybrid approach of a generic process-based growth model and decision tree analysis. Appl Veg Sci. doi:10.1111/j.1654-109X.2011.01125.x

  • Costanza R, Duplisea A, Kautsky U (1998) Ecological Modelling on modelling ecological and economic systems with STELLA. Ecol Model 110:1–4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ek AR, Monserud RA (1974) Trials with program FOREST: growth and reproduction simulation for mixed species even- or uneven-aged forest stands. In: Fries J (ed) Growth Models for Tree and Stand Simulation. Proc. IUFRO Working Party S4.01-4 meetings, 1973. Dep. For. Yield Res., Royal Coll. For., Stockholm. Res. Note 30, pp 56–69

    Google Scholar 

  • Forrester DI, Bauhus J, Cowie A, Vanclay JK (2006) Mixed-species plantations of Eucalyptus with nitrogen fixing trees: a review. For Ecol Manag 233:211–230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forrester DI, Vanclay JK, Forrester RI (2011) The balance between facilitation and competition interactions in mixtures of Eucalyptus and Acacia changes as stands develop. Oecologia 166:265–272

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Garcia O (2003) Dimensionality reduction in growth models: an example. Forest Biometry Model Inform Sci 1(3):1–15

    Google Scholar 

  • Groot A (2004) A model to estimate light interception by tree crowns, applied to black spruce. Can J For Res 34(4):788–799

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hasenauer H (ed) (2006) Sustainable forest management: growth models for Europe. Springer, Berlin, 298 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Hasenauer H, Merkl D, Weingartner M (2001) Estimating tree mortality of Norway spruce stands with neural networks. Adv Environ Res 5:405–414

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawkes C (2000) Woody plant mortality algorithms: description, problems and progress. Ecol Model 126:225–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hegyi F (1974) A simulation model for managing jack-pine stands. In: Fries G (ed) Growth models for tree and stand simulation. Royal College of Forestry, Stockholm, Sweden. Res Note 30: 74–90

    Google Scholar 

  • Hool JN (1966) A dynamic programming Markov chain approach to forest production control. For Sci Monog 12, 26 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Kobziar L, Moghaddas J, Stephens SL (2006) Tree mortality patterns following prescribed fires in a mixed conifer forest. Can J For Res 36:3222–3238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lacointe A (2000) Carbon allocation among tree organs: a review of basic processes and representation in functional-structural tree models. Ann For Sci 57:521–533

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Landsberg JJ (1986) Physiological ecology of forest production. Academic Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Lemmon PE, Schumacher FX (1962) Stocking density around ponderosa pine trees. For Sci 8: 397–402

    Google Scholar 

  • Lhotka JM, Loewenstein EF (2011) An individual-tree diameter growth model for managed uneven-aged oak-shortleaf pine stands in the Ozark Highlands of Missouri, USA. For Ecol Manag 261:770–778

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • López I, Ortuñoa SF, Martína ÁJ, Fullana C (2007) Estimating the sustainable harvesting and the stable diameter distribution of European beech with projection matrix models. Ann For Sci 64:593–599

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McMurtrie R, Wolf L (1983) Above- and below-ground growth of forest stands: a carbon budget model. Ann Bot 52(4):437–448

    Google Scholar 

  • Miina J, Heinonen J (2008) Stochastic simulation of forest regeneration establishment using a multilevel multivariate model. For Sci 54:206–219

    Google Scholar 

  • Miina J, Pukkala T (2000) Using numerical optimization for specifying individual-tree competition models. For Sci 46:277–283

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell KJ (1969) Simulation of the growth of even-aged stands of white spruce. Yale University School of Forestry Bull No. 75, 48 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Monserud RA, Ek AR (1977) Prediction of understorey tree height growth in northern hardwood stands. For Sci 23:391–400

    Google Scholar 

  • Muetzelfeldt R, Massheder J (2003) The simile visual modelling environment. Eur J Agron 18:345–358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newnham RM, Smith JHG (1964) Development and testing of stand models for Douglas fir and lodgepole pine. For Chron 40:494–502

    Google Scholar 

  • Newton PF (1997) Stand density management diagrams: Review of their development and utility in stand-level management planning. For Ecol Manag 98:251–265

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ong RC, Kleine M (1995) DIPSIM: a dipterocarp forest growth simulation model for Sabah. FRC Research Papers, No. 2. Forest Research Center, Forestry Department, Sabah

    Google Scholar 

  • Pacala SW, Canham CD, Silander JA Jr (1993) Forest models defined by field measurements: I. The design of a northeastern forest simulator. Can J For Res 23:1980–1988

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pretzsch H, Biber P (2005) A Re-evaluation of Reineke’s rule and stand density index. For Sci 51:304–320

    Google Scholar 

  • Pretzsch H, Grote R, Reineking B, Rotzer TH, Seifert ST (2008) Models for forest ecosystem management: a European perspective. Ann Bot 101:1065–1087

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pukkala T, Moykkynen T, Thor M, Ronnberg J, Stenlid J (2005) Modeling infection and spread of Heterobasidion annosum in even-aged Fennoscandian conifer stands. Can J For Res 35:74–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pukkala T, Lähde E, Laihoc O (2009) Growth and yield models for uneven-sized forest stands in Finland. For Ecol Manag 258(3):207–216

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ranius T, Niklasson M, Berg N (2009) Development of tree hollows in pedunculate oak (Quercus robur). For Ecol Manag 257:303–310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ratkowsky DA (1983) Nonlinear regression modeling. Marcel Dekker, New York/Basel, 276 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Reineke LH (1933) Perfecting a stand density index for even-aged stands. J Agric Res 46:627–638

    Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds JF, Acock B (1997) Modularity and genericness in plant and ecosystem models. Ecol Model 94:7–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts MR, Hruska AJ (1986) Predicting diameter distributions: a test of the stationary Markov model. Can J For Res 16:130–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rojo JMT, Orois SS (2005) A decision support system for optimizing the conversion of rotation forest stands to continuous cover forest stands. For Ecol Manag 207(1–2):109–120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rothe A, Binkley D (2001) Nutritional interactions in mixed species forests: a synthesis. Can J For Res 31:1855–1870

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roxburgh SH, Wood SW, Mackey BG, Woldendorp G, Gibbons P (2006) Assessing the carbon sequestration potential of managed forests: a case study from temperate Australia. J Appl Ecol 43:1149–1159

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Salminen H, Lehtonen M, Hynynen J (2005) Reusing legacy FORTRAN in the MOTTI growth and yield simulator. Comput Electron Agric 49:103–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sands PJ (2004a) 3PGpjs vsn 2.4 – a user-friendly interface to 3-PG, the Landsberg and Waring model of forest productivity. CRC Forestry Technical Report 140

    Google Scholar 

  • Sands PJ (2004b) Adaptation of 3-PG to novel species: guidelines for data collection and parameter assignment. CRC Forestry Technical Report 141

    Google Scholar 

  • Sands PJ, Landsberg JJ (2002) Parameterisation of 3-PG for plantation grown Eucalyptus globulus. For Ecol Manag 163:273–292

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sequeira RA, Sharpe PJH, Stone ND, El-Zik KM, Makela ME (1991) Object-oriented simulation: plant growth and discrete organ to organ interactions. Ecol Model 58:55–89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skovsgaard JP, Vanclay JK (2008) Forest site productivity: review of the evolution of dendrometric concepts for even-aged stands. Forestry 81(1):13–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strub MR, Green EJ, Burkhart HE, Pirie WR (1986) Merchantability of loblolly pine – an application of nonlinear regression with a discrete dependent variable. For Sci 32:254–261

    Google Scholar 

  • Trasobares A, Pukkala T (2004) Using past growth to improve individual-tree diameter growth models for uneven-aged mixtures of Pinus sylvestris L. and Pinus nigra Arn. In Catalonia, north-east Spain. Ann For Sci 61:409–417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner DP, Ollinger SV, Kimball JS (2004) Integrating remote sensing and ecosystem process models for landscape- to regional-scale analysis of the carbon cycle. Bioscience 54:573–584

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Hulst R (1979) On the dynamics of vegetation: Markov chains as models of succession. Vegetatio 40:3–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vanclay JK (1989) Site productivity assessment in rainforests: an objective approach using indicator species. In: Wan Razali W, Appanah S (eds) Proceedings of the seminar on growth and yield in tropical mixed/moist forests, 20–24 June 1988, Kuala Lumpur. Forest Research Institute Malaysia, pp 225–241

    Google Scholar 

  • Vanclay JK (1991a) Compatible deterministic and stochastic predictions by probabilistic modelling of individual trees. For Sci 37:1656–1663

    Google Scholar 

  • Vanclay JK (1991b) Aggregating tree species to develop diameter increment equations for tropical rainforests. For Ecol Manag 42:143–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vanclay JK (1991c) Mortality functions for north Queensland rainforests. J Trop For Sci 4:15–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Vanclay JK (1991d) Modelling changes in the merchantability of individual trees in tropical rainforest. Commonwealth Forestry Rev 70:105–111

    Google Scholar 

  • Vanclay JK (1992) Modelling regeneration and recruitment in a tropical rainforest. Can J For Res 22:1235–1248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vanclay JK (1994a) Modelling forest growth and yield: applications to mixed tropical forests. CAB International, Wallingford

    Google Scholar 

  • Vanclay JK (1994b) Sustainable timber harvesting: simulation studies in the tropical rainforests of north Queensland. For Ecol Manag 69:299–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vanclay JK (2003) The one-minute modeller: an introduction to simile. Ann Trop Res 25(1):31–44

    Google Scholar 

  • Vanclay JK (2006) Spatially-explicit competition indices and the analysis of mixed-species plantings with the simile modelling environment. For Ecol Manag 233:295–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vanclay JK (2010) Robust relationships for simple plantation growth models based on sparse data. Forest Ecol Manag 259:194–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vanclay JK, Preston, RA (1990) Utility of Landsat Thematic Mapper data for mapping site productivity in tropical moist forests. Photogramm Eng Rem Sens 56:1383–1388

    Google Scholar 

  • Vanclay, JK, Skovsgaard, JP (1997) Evaluating forest growth models. Ecol Model 98:1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vega J, Jimenez E, Vega D, Ortiz L, Perez JR (2011) Pinus pinaster Ait. Tree mortality following wildfire in Spain. Forest Ecol Manag 261:2232–2242

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vickers LA, Fox TR, Loftis DL, Boucugnani DA (2011) Adaptation and validation of the REGEN expert system for the Central Appalachians. In: Fei S, Lhotka JM, Stringer JW, Gottschalk KW, Miller GW (eds) Proceedings, 17th Central Hardwood Forest Conference. USDA For Serv Gen Tech Rep NRS-P-78, pp 332–340

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiskittel AR, Hann DW, Kershaw JW, Vanclay JK (2011) Forest growth and yield modeling. Wiley, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wykoff WR (1990) A basal area increment model for individual conifers in the northern Rocky Mountains. For Sci 36:1077–1104

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Southern Cross University, 157, Lismore, NSW, 2480, Australia

    Jerome K. Vanclay

Authors
  1. Jerome K. Vanclay
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jerome K. Vanclay .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Forestry Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistokatu 7, Joensuu, 80100, Finland

    Timo Pukkala

  2. Burckhardt-Institute, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ec, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Büsgenweg 5, Göttingen, 37077, Germany

    Klaus von Gadow

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Vanclay, J.K. (2012). Modelling Continuous Cover Forests. In: Pukkala, T., von Gadow, K. (eds) Continuous Cover Forestry. Managing Forest Ecosystems, vol 23. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2202-6_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation