Accuracy and precision of crown profile, volume, and surface area measurements of 29-year-old Japanese cypress trees using a Spiegel relascope

Abstract

The crown profile, volume, and surface area obtained from 25 trees in a stand of 29-year-old Japanese cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa Endl.) using a Spiegel relascope were compared with those obtained by direct measurement after tree felling. In 17 of the 25 trees, the crown profile measured with the relascope was identical to the crown profile obtained by direct measurement. For the 17 trees, the mean relative errors of crown volume and surface area tended to be unbiased. On the other hand, the crown profiles obtained by the two methods were different in five of the 25 trees, while it could not been judged whether the crown profiles obtained by the two methods were identical or different in three of the 25 trees. However, for each group of five or three trees, the mean relative errors of crown volume and surface area were also unbiased. Moreover, for both crown volume and surface area, no significant differences were detected in variance of error among the groups of 17, five, and three trees. Therefore, the discrepancy between crown profiles obtained by the two methods for the five and three trees might be negligible in terms of the accuracy and precision of crown volume and surface area measurements. The standard errors for both crown volume and surface area were larger in each of the five and three trees than in the 17 trees. However, even for the five and three trees, the crown volume and surface area obtained using the relascope were more precise than those based on the assumption that crown form was a cone or paraboloid. We concluded that using a Spiegel relascope would enable us to obtain an accurate and precise crown profile, volume, and surface area of Japanese cypress trees for practical use, especially when the main objective of measurement is determining crown volume or surface area.