Estimating forest crown area removed by selection cutting: a linked regression-GIS approach based on stump diameters

• Published in: Forest ecology and management Vol. 137; no. 1; pp. 171 - 177
• Main Authors: Anderson, S.C, Kupfer, J.A, Wilson, R.R, Cooper, R.J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 15.10.2000; Elsevier
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Bottomland hardwood forest; Crown area; Dendrometry. Forest inventory; Forestry; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; GIS regression model; Quercus texana; Silvicultural treatments; Stump diameters; Taxodium distichum; Ulmus crassifolia; United States; North America; Arkansas; America; Stump diameters; Crown area; GIS regression model; Bottomland hardwood forest; Silvicultural treatments; Forest stand; Production quality; Silviculture; Forest mensuration; Uneven-aged forest stand; Taxodium distichum; Species specificity; Forest logging; Fagaceae; Forecast model; Basal area; Dicotyledones; Environment impact; Angiospermae; Gymnospermae; Tree crown; Silvicultural systems; Hardwood forest tree; Coniferales; Spermatophyta; Ulmaceae; Diameter; Canopy(vegetation)
• ISSN: 0378-1127; 1872-7042
• DOI: 10.1016/S0378-1127(99)00325-4

The purpose of this research was to develop a model that could be used to provide a spatial representation of uneven-aged silvicultural treatments on forest crown area. We began by developing species-specific linear regression equations relating tree DBH to crown area for eight bottomland tree species at White River National Wildlife Refuge, Arkansas, USA. The relationships were highly significant for all species, with coefficients of determination ( r 2) ranging from 0.37 for Ulmus crassifolia to nearly 0.80 for Quercus nuttallii and Taxodium distichum. We next located and measured the diameters of more than 4000 stumps from a single tree–group selection timber harvest. Stump locations were recorded with respect to an established grid point system and entered into a Geographic Information System (ARC/INFO). The area occupied by the crown of each logged individual was then estimated by using the stump dimensions (adjusted to DBHs) and the regression equations relating tree DBH to crown area. Our model projected that the selection cuts removed roughly 300 m 2 of basal area from the logged sites resulting in the loss of ≈55 000 m 2 of crown area. The model developed in this research represents a tool that can be used in conjunction with remote sensing applications to assist in forest inventory and management, as well as to estimate the impacts of selective timber harvest on wildlife.