Climatic characterization of the plots included in the analysis, by region.

<p>Climatic characterization of the plots included in the analysis, by region.</p

Frequencies of damage occurrence by disturbance agent along 1995–2014.

<p>Top: Relative to country level (<i>All</i>). Bottom: Relative to each region.</p

Description of the disturbance agents and their associated damage as measured in the Norwegian National Forest Inventory.

<p>Description of the disturbance agents and their associated damage as measured in the Norwegian National Forest Inventory.</p

Contingency table presenting observed and calculated expected stand damage by disturbance agent.

<p>Contingency table presenting observed and calculated expected stand damage by disturbance agent.</p

Most similar neighbor imputation of forest attributes using metrics derived from combined airborne LIDAR and multispectral sensors

<p>In the context of predicting forest attributes using a combination of airborne LIDAR and multispectral (MS) sensors, we suggest the inclusion of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) metrics along with the more traditional LIDAR height metrics. Here the data fusion method consists of back-projecting LIDAR returns onto original MS images, avoiding co-registration errors. The prediction method is based on non-parametric imputation (the most similar neighbor). Predictor selection and accuracy assessment include hypothesis tests and over-fitting prevention methods. Results show improvements when using combinations of LIDAR and MS compared to using either of them alone. The MS sensor has little explanatory capacity for forest variables dependent on tree height, already well determined from LIDAR alone. However, there is potential for variables dependent on tree diameters and their density. The combination of LIDAR and MS sensors can be very beneficial for predicting variables describing forests structural heterogeneity, which are best described from synergies between LIDAR heights and NDVI dispersion. Results demonstrate the potential of NDVI metrics to increase prediction accuracy of forest attributes. Their inclusion in the predictor dataset may, however, in a few cases be detrimental to accuracy, and therefore we recommend to carefully assess the possible advantages of data fusion on a case-by-case basis.</p

HEIGHT-DIAMETER MODELS FOR Eucalyptus sp. PLANTATIONS IN BRAZIL

<div><p>ABSTRACT The use of height-diameter models have important applications in the management of eucalyptus plantations. The aim of this paper is to provide adequate height models based on the diameter and stand variables that could be easily used and applied to plantation’s management. The data was based on tests located in Espírito Santo and Bahia. A total of 312 plots, including 35 different treatments (different initial planting densities, number and severity of thinning operations, fertilization regimes, among others), and four different clones. This resulted in 2,407 conditions for 85,608 tree measurements. The constructed equations were based on mixed-effect models, in order to accommodate possible autocorrelations, to address variations between sites and to obtain locally calibrated estimates. Among the different model structures and combination of variables tested and presented, the best model showed a coefficient of determination of 0.953 and 0.988, for the fixed and fixed+random parts, respectively. The model included a random factor for measurements-within-tree and tree-within-plot. The bias of the fixed part was 0.208 cm (0.0659%). We believe the models in this study can have broad applications in management and inventory methods applied to plantations.</p></div

Reviewing wood biomass potentials for energy in Europe: the role of forests and fast growing plantations

<p>Wood biomass for energy is largely produced in Europe from forest land resulting from silvicultural and management practices or from agricultural land in the form of fast growing plantations. The present paper reviews and compares the estimated current potentials for wood biomass production in 25 countries in Europe. The potentials are divided attending to these sources to identify the most suitable method of wood biomass production on a country level, based on its current forest and agriculture levels of production. Data has been collected and compiled from previous models and estimations. The total aggregated available potential in Europe is 76 Mm³ of wood biomass from the forests, with an additional 90 Mm³ from increasing the utilization of forest lands, and 98 Mm³ from fast growing plantations (dedicating 5% of current agricultural land). Germany and France showed high potentials both from agriculture and forest; Finland and Sweden had most of its potential from forest sources; and Spain, Poland, and UK from fast-growing plantations. When considered together, Europe presents a large potential for wood biomass production for energy, and each country should develop different policy strategies of promotion attending to the most available source to realize this potential efficiently.</p