Documentation and User Guides for SPBLOB: A Computer Simulation Model of the Joint Population Dynamics for Loblolly Pine and the Southern Pine Beetle

摘要

SPBLOB is a computer simulation model for the interaction between loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.), the economically most important forest crop in the United States, and the southern pine beetle (SPB: Dendroctonus frontalis Zimm.), the major insect pest for this species. The model simulates loblolly pine stands from time of planting until harvest. It mimics day-to-day changes in SPB populations, and the associated tree mortality caused by these bark beetles. In addition, it provides yearly updates of tree mortality due to competition and of growth for the surviving trees. Chiefly, the model and its simulation codes are designed to function as research tools for investigating the influence of stand properties on SPB activities, and of the reciprocal impact of beetles on tree mortality. In this Documentation we briefly describe the model, then outline the concepts and structure upon which the SPBLOB simulation source code is based. The included User Guides specify the input information regarding a loblolly stand and its environment required to run two executable Simulation Codes--a single-stand Interactive Simulation code, in which a user can specify features they wish the simulated stand to possess, and a Multiple-Simulation code that can be used to run large numbers of independent replicates of various stand designs.