Modeling Forest Stand Development

Abstract

This chapter serves as an introduction to the most prevalent forest growth and yield modeling approaches and provides context for the detailed treatment of common model structures that follows. Numerous approaches to modeling forest stand development have been taken and there is no universally accepted means of categorizing the various modeling structures. Although no classification system of modeling techniques is fully satisfactory, categorizing provides a succinct way of identifying the general features involved rather than having to provide a detailed description of each model’s structure. Key components are identified for the most common growth and yield modeling systems under the categories of whole-stand, diameter-distribution, size-class, and individual-tree models. Selection of the modeling entity (stand or tree) and a description of empirical data typically used for model fitting are briefly covered.