New height growth and site index models for Pacific silver fir in southwestern British Columbia

UBC Faculty Research and Publications

New height growth and site index models for Pacific silver fir in southwestern British Columbia Klinka, Karel; Splechtna, Bernhard E.; Chourmouzis, Christine; Varga, Pal

Abstract

Pacific silver fir (Abies amabilis (Dougl. ex Loud.) Forbes) is an important timber crop species in coastal forests of B.C. Its range extends from sea-level to almost timberline, and from the hypermaritime region on the west coast of Vancouver Island to the subcontinental region on the leeward side of the Coast Mountains. With this relatively wide climatic amplitude, a large variability in the height growth pattern of Pacific silver fir can be expected, since climate is considered to be the most influential determinant of the trajectory of height over age of forest trees. This variability, however, is not reflected in the height growth curves and site index tables used to estimate Pacific silver fir site index, since the curves and tables were developed from low-elevation stands on Vancouver Island. Consequently, when these curves and tables are applied to high-elevation or submaritime stands, we get biased estimates of site index. Accurate estimates of site index are necessary for accurate yield predictions. Furthermore, they are essential for making rational decisions about whether to cut the forest in situations where potential tree growth is marginal, such as in high-elevation forests.

Item Metadata

Title	New height growth and site index models for Pacific silver fir in southwestern British Columbia
Alternate Title	Scientia silvica extension series, no. 19
Creator	Klinka, Karel; Splechtna, Bernhard E.; Chourmouzis, Christine; Varga, Pal
Publisher	Forest Sciences Department, University of British Columbia
Date Issued	1999
Description	Pacific silver fir (Abies amabilis (Dougl. ex Loud.) Forbes) is an important timber crop species in coastal forests of B.C. Its range extends from sea-level to almost timberline, and from the hypermaritime region on the west coast of Vancouver Island to the subcontinental region on the leeward side of the Coast Mountains. With this relatively wide climatic amplitude, a large variability in the height growth pattern of Pacific silver fir can be expected, since climate is considered to be the most influential determinant of the trajectory of height over age of forest trees. This variability, however, is not reflected in the height growth curves and site index tables used to estimate Pacific silver fir site index, since the curves and tables were developed from low-elevation stands on Vancouver Island. Consequently, when these curves and tables are applied to high-elevation or submaritime stands, we get biased estimates of site index. Accurate estimates of site index are necessary for accurate yield predictions. Furthermore, they are essential for making rational decisions about whether to cut the forest in situations where potential tree growth is marginal, such as in high-elevation forests.
Extent	212456 bytes
Subject	Climate; Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir zone; Forest productivity; Height growth model; Maritime; Mountain hemlock; Pacific silver fir; Site index model; Stem analysis; Submaritime; Tree growth; Western hemlock
Genre	Report
Type	Text
File Format	application/pdf
Language	eng
Date Available	2008-04-11
Provider	Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights	All rights reserved
DOI	10.14288/1.0107271
URI	http://hdl.handle.net/2429/686
Affiliation	Forestry, Faculty of; Forest Sciences, Department of
Peer Review Status	Reviewed
Scholarly Level	Faculty
Aggregated Source Repository	DSpace

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