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Indices of Individual-Tree Competition

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Modeling Forest Trees and Stands

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the quantification of competition by local neighbors and its influence on individual tree growth. The effect of local neighbors is usually expressed by a mathematical formulation – commonly referred to as a “competition index” – representing how much each tree is affected by its neighbors. Competition indices are of two general types: (i) distance independent or non-spatially explicit, and (ii) distance-dependent or spatially explicit, depending on whether or not tree coordinate locations are required for their computation. An index of individual tree competition is a central component of individual-tree growth and yield models (Chaps. 14 and 15). Two major components of development of distance-dependent indices, namely selection of competitors and formulation of the competition index, are discussed in depth. A wide array of competition indices have been developed and no single index or class of indices has been found to be universally superior. Evaluation and comparison of competition indices for growth and yield prediction, along with suggestions for future refinement and improvement of competition measures, provide a conclusion to the chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forestry, Virginia Tech, Cheatham Hall 319, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    Harold E. Burkhart

  2. Instituto Superior de Agronomia DRAT, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, Lisboa, Portugal

    Margarida Tomé

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  1. Harold E. Burkhart
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  2. Margarida Tomé
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Burkhart, H.E., Tomé, M. (2012). Indices of Individual-Tree Competition. In: Modeling Forest Trees and Stands. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3170-9_9

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