Determination and modeling of diameter and basal area of beech tree (Fagus Orientalis Lipsky) in Golestan province

Determining and estimating the tree diameter growth and basal area growth of beech are very important in forest management and planning. Due to, the beech trees is one of the most valuable species in Hyrcanian forests, so the aim of this study is determine and modeling the tree diameter growth and basal area growth of the beech tree in forestry plans in Golestan province.

This study was conducted in four forestry plans Vatana, Kordkoy, Shamoshak and Shast-Kalate located in Golestan province. In the study area, 19 beech trees were selected from healthy trees with criteria such as no twisting of the trunk and no wounding of the trunk at a similar altitude from among the healthy stands. A disk (10 cm-thick) at breast height was selected. The maximum, minimum and mean age of the trees in the study area are 243 years (2016-1773), 99 and 142 years, respectively. After preparing the samples, the width of the annual rings of trees was measured using a LINTAB with 0.01 mm accuracy. Then, the average diameter growth and annual basal area growth of trees were determined and the relationship between diameter at breast height and growth diameter and basal area growth was evaluated using four models: Hyperbolic, Heat capacity, Modified power and Richard.

The results showed that with increasing age of beech trees, the diameter growth increased and reached its peak in 1955, then it started a downward trend. The results also showed that with increasing tree age, annual basal area growth of the tree also increases, in compare to diameter growth, annual basal area growth reaches a maximum in 1990 and then takes a downward trend. The results showed that The diameter growth and annual basal area were 3.93 mm and 17.52 cm2, respectively. The results of modeling also showed that the heat capacity model, compared to other models, could better explain the diameter and basal area with a coefficient of determination of R2 = 0.37 and R2 = 0.69, respectively. The results of uncertainty analysis also showed that the real average of diameter growth and basal area growth characteristics is in the range of 95% confidence intervals, which shows the appropriate and reliable performance of the model.

According to the results, it can be concluded that diameter growth and annual basal area were 3.93 mm and 17.52 cm2, respectively and DBH as an dependent variable explains 37% and 69% of changes in diameter growth and annual basal area.