Development of site index curves for Pinus kesiya in the Philippines

Abstract

This study was conducted to develop a height–age growth model and site index curves for site quality evaluation of old secondary-growth stands of Pinus kesiya in the northern Philippines. The Chapman-Richards growth function was used in the guide curve method to generate anamorphic site index curves for this species. In order to evaluate the developed model, coefficient of determination (R²), root mean square error (RMSE), bias (E) , absolute mean  difference (AMD) and mean percent bias (MPB) were used as statistical criteria. The Chapman-Richards model explained about 96.84% of the total variation of the dominant height. The value of Ewas − 0.004 m, AMD was 2.566 m, MPB was 3.88% and RMSE was 3.331. The site index curves developed as a result of this study are significant for forest managers in predicting the growth patterns and classification of site productivities for Pinus kesiya stands.

Keywords: Chapman-Richards function, dominant height, height–age growth model, site quality

Southern Forests 2012, 74(2): 115–120