Dynamics of Mensuration Indicators in a Forest Pine Plantation Based on Data of the Long-Term Observations

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to gain insight into the dynamics of the mensuration indicators, such as average height and diameter and the stand basal areas and standing timber stock, of planted pine forest of various initial densities over a 120-year period based on long-term observations on permanent sample plots. The study targets pine plantations on permanent trial plots of the Forest Experimental Station (Moscow). The growth and yield of forest stands planted on permanent plots was compared against tables of the growth course (yield) tables) of fully stocked pine stands in European Russia and yield tables of modal pine stands of European Russia (the southern boreal ecological region as well as zones of mixed and deciduous forests and forest-steppe). The real curves of the dynamics of the stand indicators are located across the entire range of the presented tabular values. The yield tables, however, offer an oversimplified representation of change in the mensuration indicators, which have a nonsteady dynamics in the actual stands over time. The time series (of dynamics) of average heights and diameters, basal areas, and stocks on sample plots are noted to deviate significantly from the yield tables’ data on fully stocked and modal pine forest stands. An alternative to traditional tables can be prognostic models of the dynamics of mensuration indicators with a different starting state of forest stands without strict alignment with the quality (bonitet) basis.