Forest Vegetation Simulator Ingrowth Tool: Incorporating Ingrowth Tree Lists into Forest Vegetation Simulator Growth Projections

Abstract

Abstract This article describes the Forest Vegetation Simulator Ingrowth Tool (FVS_IT), software developed in the Python language 5 and tested using the Northeast variant of FVS (FVS-NE). This tool incorporates specified ingrowth tree lists, stored in secondary tree list files, into FVS projections. It functions by retrieving information from an FVS keyword file, which is then modified to project data in a stepwise manner using user-defined time intervals. Between each time step in a simulation, FVS_IT incorporates ingrowth into projections by appending ingrowth tree records to projected tree lists and compiles a new tree list for the next time step. Outputs include both appended tree lists and stand summaries from FVS so that users can conduct further analyses. The FVS_IT application is useful when assessing and calibrating FVS using continuous forest inventory or permanent sample plots where periodic remeasurements include ingrowth trees.