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Are allometric relationships between tree height and diameter dependent on environmental conditions and management?

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The allometric relationship of Scots pine height versus diameter is not constant and does not follow elastic similarity and geometric scaling rules in Eastern Europe.

Abstract

Scots pine is one of the most widely distributed tree species in Europe. It occurs in the boreal forest but also occupies vast areas on dry sites of the Mediterranean region and on continental sites in Central and Eastern Europe. Improved understanding of the influence of climatic factors, forest management and tree interactions on the relationship between tree height and stem diameter is necessary for sustainable forest management. The main objective of the present study was to study the changes in the stem allometry of Scots pine and to classify them using the periodic allometric coefficient of the height–diameter relationship. Periodic (annual) height and diameter increment data of 114 trees with observation periods from 40 to 115 years from three European countries including Estonia, Poland and the Czech Republic was used. Periodic allometric coefficients were calculated for the whole trees’s observation period to identify the effect of different environmental conditions and management. To classify trajectories of the allometric coefficient, eight clustering algorithms were qualified and internal validation of algorithms was carried out by three indices. The performance of a superior algorithm was compared according to five different distance measures and seven clustering methods. Study results indicated a variable allometric relationship between tree height and diameter which did not follow elasticity or geometric scaling rules across sites. Also, significant differences in allometric coefficients were found between the sites. In regard to the latitudinal difference one similar allometric coefficient trajectory for Estonia and one for Poland and the Czech Republic were found.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Kamil Bielak for making Polish stem analysis data available and for his helpful comments on the study development. The authors also thank Dušek David who kindly provided the Czech Republic time series data. The authors express appreciation to Andres Kiviste and Kalev Jõgiste for their recommendations and comments on an early version of the manuscript and to two anonymous referees for concise and constructive recommendations in improving the manuscript. The Estonian Science Foundation (Grant No. 8890) supported the initiation and data analysis of the study. The research and paper writing was supported by the EU Regional Development Foundation, Environmental Conservation and Environmental Technology R&D Program project BioAtmos (3.2.0802.11-0043) and by the Estonian Research Council (Institutional Research Funding IUT21-04).

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  1. Department of Forest Management, Institute of Forestry and Rural Engineering, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 5, Tartu, 51014, Estonia

    Azimeh Motallebi & Ahto Kangur

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Motallebi, A., Kangur, A. Are allometric relationships between tree height and diameter dependent on environmental conditions and management?. Trees 30, 1429–1443 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-016-1379-4

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