Marjut Turtiainen, Jari Miina, Kauko Salo, Juha-Pekka Hotanen. (2013). Empirical prediction models for the coverage and yields of cowberry in Finland. Silva Fennica vol. 47 no. 3 article id 1005. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.1005

Keywords: generalized linear mixed model; abundance; berry yield; Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.

Highlights: The site fertility significantly affected the abundance of cowberry on mineral soils, spruce mires and pine mires; The stand basal area and dominant tree species were among the most important forest structural predictors in the model for the coverage; In the cowberry yield model developed for mineral soil sites, the stand basal area and coverage of cowberry plants were statistically significant predictors.

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Empirical models for the coverage and berry yield of cowberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) were developed using generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs). The percentage coverage of cowberry was predicted as a function of site and stand characteristics using data from the Finnish National Forest Inventory (NFI) in 1995. The average annual yield, including the between-year variation in the yield, was predicted as a function of percentage coverage and stand characteristics using permanent experimental plots (MASI) established in different areas of Finland and measured in 2001-2012. The model for cowberry yields (Model 2) was developed for mineral soil forests. The model for the coverage (Model 1) was constructed so that it considers both mineral soil sites and also many other sites where cowberry occurs in the field layer. According to Model 1, the site fertility significantly affected the abundance of cowberry on mineral soils, spruce mires and pine mires. The stand basal area and dominant tree species were among the most important forest structural predictors in Model 1. The site fertility was not a significant predictor in the cowberry yield model. Instead, the stand basal area and coverage of cowberry plants were found to be statistically significant predictors in Model 2. The estimated models were used to predict the cowberry coverage, average annual yield and its 95 % confidence interval along with stand development. The models of this study can be used for multi-objective forest planning purposes.

Turtiainen, University of Eastern Finland, School of Forest Sciences, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: marjut.turtiainen@uef.fi
Miina, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Joensuu Unit, P.O. Box 68, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: jari.miina@metla.fi
Salo, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Joensuu Unit, P.O. Box 68, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: kauko.salo@metla.fi
Hotanen, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Joensuu Unit, P.O. Box 68, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: juha-pekka.hotanen@metla.fi

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