Using marked point process to study the relationships between the morphology of coppice clumps and the soil environment

Abstract

International audienceThe relationships between coppice clump locations and morphological caracteristics on the one hand, and some soil environment variables on the other are studied. The theory of marked point process, which has not been used extensively in forestry studies, was found to be adequate for this exploratory and statistical analysis. The paper demonstrated its application and the efficiency to the method for the exploration. The mark, which corresponds to the coppice clump's morphological characteristics, is multidimensional and the basic framework of Stoyan's model (1984) had to be enlarged. K-functions, and "covariance functions", similar to those by Stoyan have to be defined, which give a method for exploring the spatial relationships within the data set. By using these functions and intensity estimations, it was shown that the clumps were regularly distributed, that the diameter of the clumps and the number of stumps, from the previous cut, were negatively correlated and that the height of the clumps was the only variable which was clearly correlated to the soil fertility. With the help of other "covariance functions" the spatial structure of the coppice was better described. The largest clumps had an in hibitory effect while the smallest clumps filled the gaps, so that there was a natural optimization of resource allocation