Modelling thinnings in even-aged plantation forests

摘要

Modelling structure changes through thinning and growth after a thinning is an essential prerequisite for evaluating silvicultural alternatives. This paper presents a method whereby the rate of survival of a Cunninghamia lanceolata tree with a given diameter is estimated from the relative diameter frequency and the weight of a thinning. The movement of the cumulative diameter distribution is tied to the growth of the squared mean diameter, thus providing compatibility between the stand level and the level of the single tree. The model is validated using independent data from trials with varying thinning weight.