IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecomod/v203y2007i3p297-311.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Description and test of a simple process-based model of forest growth for mixed-species stands

Author

Listed:
  • Duursma, R.A.
  • Marshall, J.D.
  • Robinson, A.P.
  • Pangle, R.E.

Abstract

Process-based models of forest growth have been discussed for decades, but their utility as management tools has only recently begun to increase. Ideally this type of model would be tested by treating it as a complex hypothesis that relates independently measured parameters to predicted responses. This approach provides a test of the structure and the parameterization of the model that is not possible if the model has been calibrated (or tuned). We conduct such a test of a new model of forest production and allocation. The test uses a series of plots located across complex terrain in northern Idaho, USA. The production model scales leaf-level gas exchange to the canopy, and is parameterized with foliar nitrogen, leaf area index (LAI), and canopy structural parameters. New biomass is allocated such that tree allometry is maintained while foliage and branches turn over. A simple approach combines allometric equations across species in mixed-species stands. Predictions of volume increment for a 10-year period were higher than measurements, but the two were significantly correlated. The discrepancy was reduced when leaf area index was estimated from canopy light transmission rather than allometric equations. We argue that one likely reason for the overprediction is the occurrence of soil water deficits in the summer. A sensitivity analysis showed that estimates of production were most sensitive to leaf area index and canopy average foliar nitrogen content, but much less to other parameters. We conclude that comparing the model to observed data reveals shortcomings that might have been hidden if the parameters had been tuned. The mixed-species allometric constraint provides a new tool for modeling biomass allocation in mixed-species stands.

Suggested Citation

  • Duursma, R.A. & Marshall, J.D. & Robinson, A.P. & Pangle, R.E., 2007. "Description and test of a simple process-based model of forest growth for mixed-species stands," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 203(3), pages 297-311.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:203:y:2007:i:3:p:297-311
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2006.11.032
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304380006006090
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2006.11.032?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Seidl, Rupert & Rammer, Werner & Scheller, Robert M. & Spies, Thomas A., 2012. "An individual-based process model to simulate landscape-scale forest ecosystem dynamics," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 231(C), pages 87-100.
    2. Kramer, K. & Buiteveld, J. & Forstreuter, M. & Geburek, T. & Leonardi, S. & Menozzi, P. & Povillon, F. & Schelhaas, M.J. & Teissier du Cros, E. & Vendramin, G.G. & van der Werf, D.C., 2008. "Bridging the gap between ecophysiological and genetic knowledge to assess the adaptive potential of European beech," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 216(3), pages 333-353.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:203:y:2007:i:3:p:297-311. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecological-modelling .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.