Browsing by Subject "Forest Vegetation Simulator"
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Item Open Access Changing the Paradigm: Inventory Review and Scenario Modeling for the Duke Forest(2017-04-28) Burrows, John; Burton, Harley; Hipp, TimothySince it was founded in 1931, the Duke Forest has shown a commitment to sustainable timber management practices and forestry education. However, in recent years, a misalignment between revenue expectations and the timber management paradigm have resulted in an uneven age class distribution favoring younger age classes of pine. The purpose of this project is help the Duke Forest address this management challenge by reassessing its inventory and yield projections from its 2010 inventory to understand how the Forest might be able to improve its estimation of sustainable harvest by more accurately accounting for volume growth. Additional analyses were also conducted to model different harvest rotation lengths using the US Forest Service’s Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) to understand how more intensive management practices, such as shortening the pine rotation length and planting genetically improved stock, could help balance the Forest’s age class distribution in other divisions while keeping the forest profitable.Item Open Access Piedmont Longleaf Pine Restoration: A Management Plan for the Private Landowner(2016-04-27) Worthington, CakeyOnce abundant across the southeastern United States, longleaf pine communities now cover only 3-5% of their native range. Much of this land has been converted to fire-excluded loblolly pine plantations to supply the South's burgeoning timber market. Ecosystems dominant in longleaf pine provide valuable habitat to many unique and threatened southern species as well as financial gain from timber and alternative uses such as leasing for pine straw or hunting. Restoration efforts are currently being implemented on a variety of public and private lands, bringing a heightened awareness and scrutiny of the management practices necessary to bring back this important species. This study examines the potential for restoration of longleaf pine habitat on 3300 acres of private land in the central Piedmont of North Carolina. The intent of this management plan is to provide: a historical background on management of the property, current ecological and site conditions, a projection of future forest growth and value, and recommendations for restoration and future management in accordance with the landowner’s vision for the property. The study included collection and compilation of data on site qualities, an assessment of the current remaining timber stock, a forecast of the potential longleaf pine growth including the impact from fire management, and the potential economic value of the forest conservation investment. Major findings of the study include that fire is beneficial for competition control and that the potential for ecological and economic gain from this effort is dependent on selection of appropriate management techniques and alternative uses.Item Open Access PRODUCING GROWTH ESTIMATES OF DUKE FOREST PINE STANDS USING USDA’S FOREST VEGETATION SIMULATOR(2021-04-28) Bowman, HunterDuke Forest manages its loblolly pine stands for timber revenues. Duke Forest seeks construct a management plan informed by an optimized harvest schedule. This project aims to produce a reliable growth and yield model in order to produce the volume yield estimates necessary to compute the optimized harvest schedule. This was accomplished by testing and calibrating USDA’s Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) using Duke Forest Continuous Forest Inventory data. FVS was tested by using different site index inputs, and the diameter growth modifiers of FVS were then applied to reproduce current loblolly pine stand characteristics. It was found that the observed site index of a Duke Forest loblolly pine stand produces a better estimate of Duke Forest basal areas than do the Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Web Soil Survey site indices. Despite the use of the more accurate site index numbers, FVS needed further calibration in order to produce statistically significant estimates of Duke Forest basal areas. Diameter growth modifiers of 1.25, 2.6, and 2.6 were applied to stands with low, average, and high site indices respectively, which calibrated the model. FVS, when calibrated, can provide Duke Forest with a workable growth and yield model. In the future, even more precise calibrations will be possible as the continuous Forest Inventory process continues, and plots sampled for this project are re-sampled. This will inform the diameter and height growth increments FVS uses to grow the inputted trees into the future.