Geology topics

D.W. Hann

Publications and source records attributed to D.W. Hann.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2001

Impact of competitor species composition on predicting diameter growth and survival rates of Douglas-fir trees in southwestern Oregon

Mixed conifer and hardwood stands in southwestern Oregon were studied to explore the hypothesis that competition effects on individual-tree growth and survival will differ according to the species comprising the competition measure. Likewise, it was hypothesized that competition measures should extrapolate best if crown-based surrogates are given preference over diameter-based (basal area based) surrogates. Diameter growth and probability of survival were modeled for individual Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) trees growing in pure stands. Alternative models expressing one-sided and two-sided competition as a function of either basal area or crown structure were then applied to other plots in which Douglas-fir was mixed with other conifers and (or) hardwood species. Crown-based variables outperformed basal area based variables as surrogates for one-sided competition in both diameter growth and survival probability, regardless of species composition. In contrast, two-sided competition was best represented by total basal area of competing trees. Surrogates reflecting differences in crown morphology among species relate more closely to the mechanics of competition for light and, hence, facilitate extrapolation to species combinations for which no observations are available.

Canadian Journal of Forest Research↗

USGS1998

Reconstructing the spatial pattern of trees from routine stand examination measurements

Reconstruction of the spatial pattern of trees is important for the accurate visual display of unmapped stands. The proposed process for generating the spatial pattern is a nonsimple sequential inhibition process, with the inhibition zone proportionate to the scaled maximum crown width of an open-grown tree of the same species and same diameter at breast height as the subject tree. The results of this coordinate generation procedure are compared with mapped stem data from nine natural stands of Douglas-fir at two ages by the use of a transformed Ripley's K(d) function. The results of this comparison indicate that the proposed method, based on complete tree lists, successfully replicated the spatial patterns of the trees in all nine stands at both ages and over the range of distances examined. On the basis of these findings and the procedure's ability to model effects through time, the nonsimple sequential inhibition process has been chosen to generate tree coordinates in the VIZ4ST computer program for displaying forest stand structure in naturally regenerated young Douglas-fir stands. For. Sci.

Forest Science↗

USGS1997

Methods for evaluating crown area profiles of forest stands

Canopy architectures of five structurally complex forest stands and three structurally simple forest stands in southwest Oregon and the Willamette Valley, Oregon, were evaluated and quantified through crown area profiles. Mixed conifer and mixed conifer hardwood stands across a range of sites were sampled for crown widths and heights. Crown width and shape equations were derived and used to quantify the stand crown area at incremental heights above the forest floor. Crown area profiles describe the spatial arrangement of aboveground forest vegetation and the total pore spaces between crowns. Plot by plot profiles were combined to produce vertical and horizontal displays of the stand crown area distribution. In complex stands, the forest space was moderately occupied by crowns from the forest floor up to heights over 30 m, producing uniform distributions of between-crown porosity. The structurally complex stands had between-crown porosity values of 70% to 90% for more than 23 vertical metres of canopy, and they had total between-crown porosities of 86% to 91%. The structurally simple stands had between-crown porosity values of 70% to 90% for less than 8 vertical metres of canopy, and they had total between-crown porosities of 69% to 85%. Variances in crown area indicate that variation in horizontal crown area (within heights) was larger in complex stands than in simple stands, but vertical crown areas (between heights) varied less in complex stands. The study provides a basis for discriminating between canopy architectures and for quantifying the porosity of forest canopies.

Canadian Journal of Forest Research↗