Predicting Wood Production by Canopy Trees in Forest Communities in the Western Great Smoky Mountains
Callaway RM, Clebsch EE, White PS. 1989. Predicting Wood Production by Canopy Trees in Forest Communities in the Western Great Smoky Mountains. Forest Science. 35(2):338-348
ABSTRACT: A sequence of multivariate techniques (after Golden 1981) including hierarchial classification, detrended correspondence analysis, and multiple discriminant analysis was used to classify forest types in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Multiple regressions were used to develop predictive equations for canopy tree productivity (periodic bole volume increment) from environmental variables and measurements of tree growth. An index of topographic shape was constructed to quantify the effects of landform on forest distribution and productivity. The topographic index "protection" was the most important variable for predicting forest productivity. Elevation was the most important variable determining vegetation distribution with protection the second. Predictability of forest productivity from environmental factors was lower on older logged and farmed sites than on undisturbed sites.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Callaway, Ragan; Clebsch, Edward; White, Peter
- Units
- GRSM
- Keywords
- APHN, Appalachian Highlands Network, communities, forest, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, GRSM, GRSM-01779, indirect ordination, periodic volume increment, productivity, SER, Southeast Region, topographic quantification