Lecture 3A Flashcards
Forest Dynamics, Growth, and Yield (Part 1)
What is forest structure?
It refers to the amount, composition, and distribution of the forest growing stock.
How can forest structure be viewed?
It may be viewed in terms of its stratification.
What are the types of stratification in forest structure?
Vertical stratification and horizontal stratification.
What is stand stocking?
A qualitative indicator of the distribution of trees in the stand.
What does stand stocking measures compare
existing stand with a desired stand based on the objective(s) of the management
existing stand with a desired stand based on the objective(s) of the management are compared in?
stand stocking measures
What is stand density?
A quantitative indicator of the distribution of trees in the stand.
What does Stand density measures provide?
a more useful information in estimating growth and yield (no. of trees/ha, vol of trees/ha, basal area/ha, spacing)
What is forest growth?
Refers to the rate of change in the diameter, height, or volume of trees.
What is forest dynamics?
The study of temporal changes in forest structure, composition, and function.
What influences forest dynamics?
Tree growth and disturbances,
Resource availability,
Environmental conditions.
What are fundamental drivers of forest development?
Light, water, and nutrients.
Why is studying forest dynamics important?
- Helps predict how forests will respond to environmental changes
- Guides forest management strategies.
What are forests as dynamic systems composed of?
Interdependent elements such as soil, trees, vegetation, microorganisms, and fauna.
What governs forests as dynamic systems?
Specific rules and relationships like:
- soil structure and nutrient cycling
- Canopy structure affecting sunlight penetration
- Species composition influencing biodiversity and ecosystem stability.
What characterizes forests as open systems?
- Constant exchange of energy, matter, and biological components with the environment.
- Climate influence on tree growth and stress responses
- Human activities altering nutrient dynamics and carbon storage
What factors influence forest structure?
Species composition
Growth rates
Historical disturbances.
What is canopy layering?
Provides different light zones including emergent, canopy, understory, and ground layers.
Provides different light zones including emergent, canopy, understory, and ground layers.
canopy layering
How are forests shaped by history?
Some species develop resilience to frequent disturbances
Altered regeneration patterns occur.
What are closed feedback loops in forests?
Self-organizing mechanisms that maintain stability and productivity.
What is positive feedback in forest ecosystems?
Accelerated growth under optimal conditions.
What is negative feedback in forest ecosystems?
Growth limitation due to resource scarcity or stress factors.
How are forests hierarchically organized?
Structures and processes can be investigated at different temporal and spatial scales.
What can cause disruption in hierarchy?
If signals from the lower levels cannot be buffered by the process level above
Forest Lifespan in Perspective
Trees have significantly longer lifespans compared to other organisms, impacting forestry management.
Implications for forestry
Long-term studies are necessary to observe growth trends and ecosystem changes
Management decisions must consider multi-decade or century-scale impacts
What is the primary method for estimating forest growth?
Forest inventories.
It can be constructed over time in Estimating Forest Growth
Real time series or longitudinal data on forest growth
Real time series or longitudinal data on forest growth
It can be constructed over time in Estimating Forest Growth
Measurements are based on? (Estimating Forest Growth)
forest biometric principles
forest biometric principles
Measurements are based on? (Estimating Forest Growth)
type of forest biometric principles
Diameter & Height, Allometry
Diameter & Height, Allometry
type of forest biometric principles
Instead of long-term or LTER plots: (Estimating Forest Growth)
- A series of measurements can be made at once
- Across similar site characteristics
- In relatively adjacent forest stands
Applications of Technological Innovations
- Remote sensing techniques
- Data integration from multi-source inventories
What are the components of growth in forests?
Accretion, ingrowth, harvest, and mortality.
Accretion
increase due to development
increase due to development
Accretion
Ingrowth
increase due to regeneration
increase due to regeneration
Ingrowth
Harvest
decrease due to utilization
decrease due to utilization
Harvest
Mortality
decrease due to death and decay
decrease due to death and decay
Mortality
What is gross increment including ingrowth?
amount of total biomass and is calculated as
V2 + M + C - V1.
What is net increment?
Net volume of wood produced by the entire stand, calculated as
V2 + C - V1.
What is gross increment of the initial volume?
total growth attained by the original stand
V2 + M + C - I - V1.
What is net increment of initial volume?
net volume of wood produced by the original stand
V2 + C - I - V1.
What is net increase in growing stock?
Net change in volume of the growing stock within a given measurement period, calculated as
V2 - V1.
