Initial Estimation of Forest Inventory Sizes for Timber Sales from Easily Observed Stand Attributes

Author

Joshua Philip Skidmore

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Schultz, Emily B.

Committee Member

Matney, Thomas G.

Committee Member

Fan, Zhaofei

Date of Degree

4-30-2011

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Forestry

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

College of Forest Resources

Department

Department of Forestry

Abstract

Preliminary plots are required when beginning a cruise for a timber sale in order to get an idea of how much variation in volume exists within the sale area. This variation is known as the coefficient of variation (CV) and is subsequently used to estimate the number of plots needed to implement the cruise to a desired level of accuracy (allowable error). By looking at a large number of sale inventories and finding similarities among key attributes (trees per acre, diameter at breast height and an estimate of variance), two models were derived based on simple stand observations to aid field personnel in determining a more accurate estimate of the CV. Furthermore, the models estimate the number of 1/10 acre plots needed to sample a stand to within a ± 10% allowable error at the 90% confidence level for total tonnage.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/14909

Comments

Sample Size||Timber Cruise||CV||Forestry||Timber||Inventory||Plot Size

Recommended Citation

Skidmore, Joshua Philip, "Initial Estimation of Forest Inventory Sizes for Timber Sales from Easily Observed Stand Attributes" (2011). Theses and Dissertations. 2736.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/2736