Forest Growth

The water balance and growth of Eucalyptus grandis hybrid plantations in Brazil are presented based on 6 years of intensive catchment hydrology, physiological and forest growthsurveying, and modelling. The results show a balance between water supply by precipitation and output through evapotranspiration (considered as canopy interception, soil evaporation and trees transpiration) and runoff. The annual average precipitation was 1147 mm

Forest managers now operate in an information-rich but increasingly challenging environment in which the competing demands of environmental stewardship and sustainable management must counter-balance the demands of increased production and profitability. Management support tools, in particular, decision support systems are essential aids in this operating environment. A dynamic forest growth model, CArbon BALAnce (CABALA), that links carbon, water and nitrogen flows through the atmosphere, trees and soil including soil organic matter is presented here as a central part of a silvicultural decision support system.The strong linkage between stand biomass allocation and external environmental conditions make CABALA a model suitable for exploring stand management options and the effects of factors such as frost and drought on growth.The model performance is verified extensively using fertiliser, spacing and thinning trials. Predictions of nitrogen mineralisation, light interception, plant water stress, and biomass allocation as well as stand growth and stand leaf area index are tested with observed data.

Contents: 1. Introduction--2. Whole Stand Models--3. Size Class Models--4. Single-tree and Tree List Models--5. Data Requirements--6. Constructing Growth Models--7. Forest Site Evaluation--8. Diameter Increment--9. Mortality and Merchantability--10. Regeneration and Recruitment--11. Model Evaluation and Re-calibration--12. Implementation and Use--13. Future Directions.

Large quantities of wastewater treatment plant (WTP) residuals and boiler ash are generated as by-prod- ucts from the U.S. pulp and paper industry. These by-products have the potential to enhance forest growth and long-term site productivity when land-applied and are generally environmentally benign. Land application may be a particularly valuable tool for replenishing nutrients and organic matter removed from whole-tree harvesting or other intensive forest management practices and could also be used to rejuvenate marginal sites that are naturally infertile or degraded from past land use practices or other anthropogenic factors. Despite the demonstrated and potential benefits of for- est land application, 50-70% of mill by-products con- tinue to be disposed of in landfills at considerable cost while only 10-12% are land applied. Factors that im- pede companies from initiating land application pro- grams include logistic challenges, particularly when a variety of landowners, contract...

This paper examines three empirically based methods of monitoring forest growth between 1991 and 2000 from airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR). In the first method, height change and volume change between 1991 and 2000 were estimated from the mean L-band stand backscatter difference between the two dates. Height change and volume change over the nine year period were estimated with