Predicting green and dry mass of yellow-poplar: an integral approachWest Virginia Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station Scientific Article 2962.

Abstract

An integral approach to estimating stem green and dry masses for yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.) in West Virginia was compared with traditional ratio equation methods. The data were based on stem analysis of 26 trees from the Central Appalachian Broadleaf Forest province in northern West Virginia and 18 trees from the Eastern Broadleaf Forest province in west-central West Virginia. Sample disks were extracted from 0.3 m, 0.6 m, 1.37 m, 1.8 m, and then every 1.2 m to an approximate 7.6 cm top diameter outside bark. Sample trees ranged from 17.3 cm to 56.1 cm in diameter and from 18.8 m to 38.5 m in total height. The proposed equation generally performed better for the whole tree as well as for sections within the tree based on the nine relative height classes examined. A constant wood-density equation was superior to the use of a linear wood-density equation as a function of height above the ground. The proposed equation explained over 90% of the variation in stem mass and compared favorably with existing fixed merchantable top mass equations.