Silva Fennica vol. 31 | 1997

The objectives of this study were to record residual stand damage during harvesting operations and evaluate the influence of factors such as distance of the tree from the strip road, machine parts, operational phase, on the occurrence of tree wounds. The machine was a farm tractor equipped with a crane mounted on the front axle and a single grip harvester head. The study was carried out in two stands located in Southeast Sweden. Stand 1 was a 30-year-old Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) plantation on an afforested pasture while stand 2 was a 90-year-old mixed stand of Norway spruce, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), birch (Betula pendula Roth) and aspen (Populus tremula L.).

The mean damage percentage was 6.3% for the first stand and 6.5% for the second stand. Sixty-five percent of the wounds were less than 50 cm², with 91% of the damage occurring on the stem and 91% of the damage on or below the root collar. Sixty-six percent of the wounds produced by the stem under processing or by the harvesting head while only 10% of the wounds were produced by the tractor wheel. Damaged trees were distributed evenly in the crane reach zone. Significant differences were found between rut depths after one, two, four and six passes of the tractor in stand 1.

• Athanassiadis, E-mail: da@mm.unknown

The paper elaborates upon various theories to explain economic development and restructuring in the forested regions of advanced countries. The concepts of communities based on the forest sector and the concept of restructuring are discussed before presenting the diversity of relevant theories. Different theoretical approaches in geography and regional and socio-economic sciences are analysed, and the paper concludes that each theory gives only a partial explanation of restructuring under certain conditions. This paper recommends that an explanatory framework should take into account – in addition to general explanatory factors – sectoral, local-specific and policy-related factors and the role of human agency in attempts to explain restructuring and development.

• Tykkyläinen, E-mail: mt@mm.unknown
• Hyttinen, E-mail: ph@mm.unknown
• Mononen, E-mail: am@mm.unknown

This study examined the relationships between forest management planning units and patches formed by forest habitat components. The test area used was a part of Koli National Park in North Karelia, eastern Finland. Forest management planning units (i.e. forest compartments) were defined by using a traditional method of Finnish forestry which applies aerial photographs and compartment-wise field inventory. Patches of forest habitat components were divided according to subjective rules by using a chosen set of variables depicting the edaphic features and vegetation of a forest habitat. The spatial distribution of the habitat components was estimated with the kriging-interpolation based on systematically located sample plots. The comparisons of the two patch mosaics were made by using the standard tools of GIS. The results of the study show that forest compartment division does not correlate very strongly with the forest habitat pattern. On average, the mean patch size of the forest habitat components is greater and the number of these patches lower compared to forest compartment division. However, if the forest habitat component distribution had been considered, the number of the forest compartments would have at least doubled after intersection.

• Uuttera, E-mail: ju@mm.unknown
• Hyppänen, E-mail: hh@mm.unknown

The study proposes a technique which enables the computation of user-defined indices for species diversity. These indices are derived from characteristics, called diversity indicators, of inventory plots, stand compartments, and the whole forest holding. The study discusses the modifications required to be made to typical forest planning systems due to this kind of biodiversity computation. A case study illustrating the use of the indices and a modified forest planning system is provided. In the case study, forest-level species diversity index was computed from the volume of dead wood, volume of broadleaved trees, area of old forest, and between-stand variety.

At the stand level, the area of old forest was replaced by stand age, and variety was described by within-stand variety. All but one of the indicators were further partitioned into two to four sub-indicators. For example, the volume of broadleaved trees was divided into volumes of birch, aspen, willow, and other tree species. The partial contribution of an indicator to the diversity index was obtained from a sub-priority function, determined separately for each indicator. The diversity index was obtained when the partial contributions were multiplied by the weights of the corresponding indicators and then were summed. The production frontiers computed for the harvested volume and diversity indices were concave, especially for the forest-level diversity index, indicating that diversity can be maintained at satisfactory level with medium harvest levels.

• Pukkala, E-mail: tp@mm.unknown
• Kangas, E-mail: jk@mm.unknown
• Kniivilä, E-mail: mk@mm.unknown
• Tiainen, E-mail: at@mm.unknown

The effects of precommercial thinning on the quantity and external quality of young Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stands were examined over two 10-year periods in an experiment comprising five stands growing on sub-dry sites in Finnish Lapland, northern Finland. The thinning treatments applied resulted in stand densities of 625, 1111, 1600, 2500 and 4444 stems ha^-1 and a no-treatment, unthinned plot with a randomised block lay-out of two or three replications in each stand. The dominant height of the stands varied between 4 and 8 m at the time of thinning.

The trees reacted only slightly to the increase in growing space during the first ten years following precommercial thinning. During the second 10-year period, increased growing space was reflected more clearly in diameter and volume increment. These reactions were more evident in stands thinned at an early stage. The increment of the thinnest 100–200 trees ha^-1 in each treatment was poor. The results showed that when the main principle in precommercial thinning is to achieve even spacing, the remaining smallest trees fail to react positively to the increase in growing space. In other words, the target of precommercial thinning should be to concentrate the increment on the tallest trees, even though they are located in groups. The external quality of the trees in stands where precommercial thinning was carried out at a later stage was high, and the diameter of the thickest branch along the butt log remained under 20 mm. Branch diameter was greater in stands thinned at an early stage. The effect of precommercial thinning on branch diameter when comparing the extreme treatments averaged 5 mm. When the aim of stand management is to combine high quality and good yield in naturally regenerated Scots pine stands in northern Finland, precommercial thinning should not be carried out before the dominant height of 7–8 m. The intensity of precommercial thinning depends on the yield targets of the first commercial thinning. A spacing of 2,500 stems ha^-1 satisfies the requirements of both high quality and adequate yield.

• Ruha, E-mail: tr@mm.unknown
• Varmola, E-mail: mv@mm.unknown

Dry mass and nutrient (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, B) contents of field layer vegetation and a combination of bottom layer vegetation and litter (referred to as bottom/litter layer in the text) were studied one year before and three years after fertilization (NPK and PK) on a drained low-shrub pine bog in eastern Finland. The results of an earlier study on the tree layer were combined with those of this study in order to estimate the changes caused by fertilization in the total plant biomass and litter. Before fertilization the average dry mass of the field and bottom/litter layers was 8,400 kg ha^-1 and 7,650 kg ha^-1, respectively. The above-ground parts accounted for 25% of the total field layer biomass. The dry mass of the field and bottom/litter layers together was < 20% of the dry mass accumulated in the total plant biomass and litter. The corresponding figures for N, P, K, Ca, Mg and B were 44%, 38%, 30%, 38%, 31% and 17%, respectively. Fertilization did not significantly affect the dry mass of either the field layer vegetation or the bottom/litter layer. 33% of the applied P was accumulated in the total plant biomass and litter on the PK-fertilized plots, and 25% on the NPK-fertilized plots. For the other elements, the proportions on the PK-fertilized plots were K 31%, Ca 6%, Mg 11% and B 13%. On the NPK-fertilized plots, the corresponding figures were N 62%, K 32%, Ca 6%, Mg 9% and B 13%. Except for B and K, the accumulation of fertilizer nutrients in the understorey vegetation and litter was of the same magnitude or greater than the uptake by the tree layer.

• Finér, E-mail: lf@mm.unknown
• Nieminen, E-mail: mn@mm.unknown

Dormant needles from 129 Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) trees from the 2nd and 3rd topmost whorls were collected from spruce stands locating fairly close to each other. Tree height varied from 8 to 25 metres. Trees with and without visual potassium deficiency symptoms in needles were selected and analysed for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, boron, copper, zinc, and 3 free polyamines putrescine, spermine and spermidine.

The concentrations of all the analysed nutrients ranged from deficient to satisfactory levels. Free putrescine, spermidine and spermine concentrations in the current needles had a wide variation between the trees. Spermidine had a positive and spermine a negative correlation with potassium. Putrescine had a strong negative correlation with potassium with statistically significant increase in putrescine starting at potassium concentrations below 5.4 mg/g dry weight. The regression between putrescine and potassium changed from a linear to a non-linear form at the potassium concentration of 4.2–4.6 mg/g dry weight representing a severe K deficiency limit. The corresponding K/P ratio was 2.6–2.7. Extremely low phosphorus concentrations (P < 1.0 mg/g) lowered putrescine concentrations, but otherwise the relationships between putrescine, spermidine or spermine and potassium concentrations were unaffected by tree nutrition. At adequate potassium levels the putrescine concentrations were only slightly lower in trees taller than 20 metres than in trees of 8–16 metres height. The results show that the needle putrescine concentration can be used quite reliably for describing potassium nutrition of Norway spruce in varying nutritional and tree size conditions.

• Kaunisto, E-mail: sk@mm.unknown
• Sarjala, E-mail: ts@mm.unknown

A process-oriented tree and stand growth model is extended to be applicable to the analysis of timber quality, and how it is influenced by silvicultural treatments. The tree-level model is based on the carbon balance and it incorporates the dynamics of five biomass variables as well as tree height, crown base, and breast height diameter. Allocation of carbon is based on the conservation of structural relationships, in particular, the pipe model. The pipe-model relationships are extended to the whorl level, but in order to avoid a 3-dimensional model of entire crown structure, the branch module is largely stochastic and aggregated. In model construction, a top-down hierarchy is used where at each step down, the upper level sets constraints for the lower level. Some advantages of this approach are model consistency and efficiency of calculations, but probably at the cost of reduced flexibility. The detailed structure related with the branching module is preliminary and will be improved when more data becomes available. Model parameters are identified for Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in Southern Finland, and example simulations are carried out to compare the development of quality characteristics in different stocking densities.

• Mäkelä, E-mail: am@mm.unknown
• Ikonen, E-mail: vi@mm.unknown
• Vanninen, E-mail: pv@mm.unknown

In the last decades, architectural analysis has been used to understand and to model plant development. These studies have led us to reconsider the problem of measuring plants while taking into account their topological structure at several scales of detail. A computational platform, called AMAPmod, was created to work on such plant representations. This paper outlines the general methodology used in AMAPmod to represent plant topological structures and to explore these special types of databases. Plant structures are first encoded in order to build corresponding formal representations. Then, a dedicated language, AML, enables the user to extract various types of information from the plant databases and provides appropriate analysing tools.

• Godin, E-mail: cg@mm.unknown
• Caraglio, E-mail: yc@mm.unknown
• Costes, E-mail: ec@mm.unknown

A shoot-root carbon:nitrogen allocation model, based on the two processes of transport and chemical conversion, is described and explored. The view is proposed that all allocation models, whether built for the purposes of theoretical investigation or practical application, should start with this irreducible framework. In the present implementation, the processes operate according to: for substrate sources, dependence on shoot and root sizes, with possible product inhibition; for transport, movement down a substrate concentration gradient; for substrate sinks or utilization, linear bisubstrate kinetics. The dynamic and equilibrium properties of the model are explored. Failure of this approach to allocation will indicate to the modeller that additional mechanisms to control the processes are needed, and the mode of failure will indicate the type of mechanisms required. Additional mechanisms are discussed which may involve hormones or teleonomic (goal-seeking) controls, and may be added to the irreducible framework. However, these additions should not replace the irreducible framework of transport and chemical conversion, because they do not in reality. Modifications to the basic model to reflect some possibilities such as ontogenesis with the transition from exponential growth towards a steady state or with the scaling of within-plant transport resistances, the influence of hormones, and active transport, are described.

• Thornley, E-mail: jt@mm.unknown

The effects of two alternative formulations of sapwood senescence on the behaviour of model LIGNUM (with parameter values adjusted for Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) growing southern Finland) were studied. The two alternatives were autonomous sapwood senescence assuming a maximum age for the tree ring, and sapwood senescence that is controlled by the mortality of foliage. For the latter alternative two hypothetical further mechanisms were stipulated. All the formulations were implemented in LIGNUM. Simulations were made with all model variants for fertile and poor soil conditions using high, normal and low rates of foliage mortality. The simulation results were compared against of a data set consisting of 11 open grown Scots pine trees from southern Finland. Observations of heartwood proportion were used in this study. They show that heartwood starts to increase in trees from age of approximately 20 years onwards. The simulation results showed no differences between fertile and poor soil conditions as regards heartwood formation. Of the variants of foliage-controlled sapwood senescence the one where death of sapwood in a tree segment induces sapwood senescence in the tree parts below only slightly was the best. This and the autonomous sapwood senescence corresponded equally well to the observations. In order to make more refined conclusions additional data and simulations are necessary.

• Sievänen, E-mail: rs@mm.unknown
• Nikinmaa, E-mail: en@mm.unknown
• Perttunen, E-mail: jp@mm.unknown

An ecophysiological growth process model, called INCA, for simulating the growth and development of a young walnut tree (Juglans regia L.) during three or four years, is presented. This tool, currently under development, aims at integrating architectural and physiological knowledge of the processes involved, in order to give a more rational understanding of the pruning operation. The model describes a simple three-dimensional representation of tree crown, solar radiation interception, photosynthesis, respiration, growth and partitioning of assimilates to leaves, stems, branches and roots. It supports the hypothesis that the tree grows as a collection of semiautonomous, interacting organs that compete for resources, based on daily sink strengths and proximity to sources. The actual growth rate of organs is not predetermined by empirical data, but reflects the pattern of available resources. The major driving variables are solar radiation, temperature, topological, geometrical and physiological factors. Outputs are hourly and daily photosynthate production and respiration, daily dimensional growth, starch storage, biomass production and total number of different types of organ. The user can interact or override any or all of the input variables to examine the effects of such changes on photosynthate production and growth. Within INCA, the tree entities and the surrounding environment are structured in a frame-based representation whereas the processes are coded in a rule-based language. The simulation mechanism is primarily based on the rule chaining capabilities of an inference engine.

• Le Dizès, E-mail: sl@mm.unknown
• Balandier, E-mail: pb@mm.unknown
• Cruiziat, E-mail: pc@mm.unknown
• Jacquet, E-mail: pj@mm.unknown
• Lacointe, E-mail: al@mm.unknown
• Le Roux, E-mail: xl@mm.unknown
• Sinoquet, E-mail: hs@mm.unknown

A new approach for modelling plant growth using the software AMAPpara is presented. This software takes into consideration knowledge about plant architecture which has been accumulated at the Plant Modelling Unit of CIRAD for several years, and introduces physiological concepts in order to simulate the dynamic functioning of trees. The plant is considered as a serial connection of vegetative organs which conduct water from the roots to the leaves. Another simple description of the plant as a network of parallel pipes is also presented which allows an analytical formulation of growth to be written. This recurring formula is used for very simple architectures and is useful to understand the role of each organ in water transport and assimilate production. Growth simulations are presented which show the influence of modifications in architecture on plant development.

• de Reffye, E-mail: pd@mm.unknown
• Barthélémy, E-mail: db@mm.unknown
• Blaise, E-mail: fb@mm.unknown
• Fourcaud, E-mail: tf@mm.unknown
• Houllier, E-mail: fh@mm.unknown

The rule-based formal language of "stochastic sensitive growth grammars" was designed to describe algorithmically the changing morphology of forest trees during their lifetime under the impact of endogenous and exogenous factors, and to generate 3-D simulations of tree structures in a systematic manner. The description in the form of grammars allows the precise specification of structural models with functional components. These grammars (extended L-systems) can be interpreted by the software GROGRA (Growth grammar interpreter) yielding time series of attributed 3-D structures representing plants. With some recent extensions of the growth-grammar language (sensitive functions, local variables) it is possible to model environmental control of shoot growth and some simple allocation strategies, and to obtain typical competition effects in tree stands qualitatively in the model.

• Kurth, E-mail: wk@mm.unknown
• Sloboda, E-mail: bs@mm.unknown

The model HYDRA, which simulates water flow in the branched tree architecture, is characterized. Empirical studies of the last decades give strong evidence for a close structure-function linkage in the case of tree water flow. Like stomatal regulation, spatial patterns of leaf specific conductivity can be regarded as a strategy counteracting conductivity losses, which may arise under drought. Branching-oriented water flow simulation may help to understand how damaging and compensating mechanisms interact within the hydraulic network of trees. Furthermore, a coupling of hydraulic to morphological modelling is a prerequisite if water flow shall be linked to other processes. Basic assumptions of the tree water flow model HYDRA are mass conservation, Darcy's law and the spatial homogeneity of capacitance and axial conductivity. Soil water potential is given as a one-sided border condition. Water flow is driven by transpiration. For unbranched regions these principles are condensed to a nonlinear diffusion equation, which serves as a continuous reference for the discrete method tailored to the specific features of the hydraulic network. The mathematical derivation and model tests indicate that the realization of the basic assumptions is reproducible and sufficiently exact. Moreover, structure and function are coupled in a flexible and computationally efficient manner. Thus, HYDRA may serve as a tool for the comparative study of different tree architectures in terms of hydraulic function.

• Früh, E-mail: tf@mm.unknown

A method for the measurement of the three-dimensional (3D) architecture of trees was applied to describe two 20-year-old walnut trees, one of them is a timber tree while the other is a fruit tree. The method works at the shoot level and simultaneously describes the plant topology, the plant geometry and the shoot morphology. The method uses a 3D digitiser (3SPACE® FASTRAK®, Polhemus Inc.) associated with software DiplAmi designed for digitiser control and data acquisition management. Plant images may be reconstructed from the data set by using the ray tracing software POV-Ray. Visual comparison between photographs of the walnut trees and images synthesised from digitising was satisfactory. Distribution of basal shoot diameter, as well as leaf area and fruit distributions for both the timber and the fruit tree were non-uniformly distributed in the crown volume. Gradients were likely to be related to the light distribution within the tree. This is in agreement with previous experimental results on several tree species, and also with the predictions of tree architecture models based on light-vegetation interactions.

• Sinoquet, E-mail: hs@mm.unknown
• Godin, E-mail: cg@mm.unknown
• Rivet, E-mail: pr@mm.unknown

A metabolic model of height growth and site index is derived from a parametrization of the annual carbon balance of a tree. The parametrization is based on pipe-model theory. Four principal variants of the height-growth model correspond to four combinations of assumptions regarding carbon allocation: (a) the apical shoot is autonomous or (b) it is not; and (A) the specific rate of elongation of a shoot equals that of a woody root or (B) it does not. The bB model is the most general as it includes the aA, bA, and aB models as special cases. If the physiological parameters are constant, then the aA model reduces to the form of the Mitscherlich model and the bA model to the form of a Bertalanffy model. Responses of height growth to year-to-year variation in atmospheric conditions are rendered through adjustments of a subset of the model's parameters, namely, the specific rate of production of carbon substrate and three specific rates of maintenance respiration. As an example, the effect of the increasing atmospheric concentration of CO₂ on the time-course of tree height of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) is projected over 50-year span from 1986. Site index is predicted to increase and, more importantly, the shape of the site-index curve is predicted to change.

• Valentine, E-mail: hv@mm.unknown

Process-based tree growth models are recognized to be flexible tools which are valuable for investigating tree growth in relation to changing environment or silvicultural treatments. In the context of forestry, we address two key modelling problems: allocation of growth which determines total wood production, and distribution of wood along the stem which determines stem form and wood quality. Growth allocation and distribution are the outcome of carbon translocation, which may be described by the Munch theory. We propose a simpler gradient process to describe the carbon distribution in the phloem of conifers. This model is a reformulation of a carbon diffusion-like process proposed by Thornley in 1972. By taking into account the continuity of the cambium along the stem, we obtain a one-dimensional reaction-diffusion model which describes both growth allocation between foliage, stem and roots, and growth distribution along the stem. Distribution of wood along the stem is then regarded as an allocation process at a smaller scale. A preliminary sensitivity analysis is presented. The model predicts a strong relationship between morphology and foliage-root allocation. It also suggests how empirical data, such as stem analysis, could be used to calibrate and validate allocation rules in process-based growth models.

• Deleuze, E-mail: cd@mm.unknown
• Houllier, E-mail: fh@mm.unknown

This article is a book review on a book ’Lodgepole pine in North America’ by Peter Koch, which is based partly on a synthesis of more than 6,000 papers on lodgepole pine, and partly on a systematic collection and analysis of wood and bark from branches, stems, stumps, and roots, as well as of foliage, of lodgepole pines.

• Hakkila, E-mail: ph@mm.unknown

The existence and direction of causal relationships between the time series for the Finnish roundwood market for the period 1960–1994 is tested. Using simple bivariate analysis, we found evidence that for both logs and pulpwood, the lagged prices are helpful in forecasting quantity for the next year, but not vice versa. Saw log stumpage prices have significantly Granger-caused pulpwood prices over the business cycles, but the effect has diminished towards the present time. For quantities traded, the direction of causality was rather from pulpwood to saw logs. The consistency of bivariate test results was checked by the Granger-causality tests within trivariate VAR-models for both markets, and the results were found to be fairly similar to bivariate tests. The price fluctuations in the international markets for forest products have been found to be carried to domestic wood markets dominantly via the pulpwood part of the market.

• Toppinen, E-mail: at@mm.unknown

Many kinds of planning systems have been labelled decision support systems (DSS), but few meet the most important features of real DSSs in planning and control of wood procurement. It has been concluded that many reasons exist to develop DSSs for wood procurement. The purchasing of timber seems to be one of the most promising areas for DSS, because there is no formal structure for these operations and decisions deal with human behaviour. Relations between DSSs and different features of the new approaches in wood procurement are also discussed, and hypotheses for future studies suggested.

• Harstela, E-mail: ph@mm.unknown

Within the European Community snow damage affects an estimated 4 million m³ of timber every year, causing significant economic losses to forest owners. In Northern Europe, for example, the occurrence of snow damage has increased over the last few decades mainly due to the increase in total growing stock. The most common form of damage is stem breakage, but trees can also be bent or uprooted. Trees suffering snow damage are also more prone to consequential damage through insect or fungal attacks.

Snow accumulation on trees is strongly dependent upon weather and climatological conditions. Temperature influences the moisture content of snow and therefore the degree to which it can accumulate on branches. Wind can cause snow to be shed, but can also lead to large accumulations of wet snow, rime or freezing rain. Wet snow is most likely in late autumn or early spring. Geographic location and topography influence the occurrence of damaging forms of snow, and coastal locations and moderate to high elevations experience large accumulations. Slope plays a less important role and the evidence on the role of aspect is contradictory. The occurrence of damaging events can vary from every winter to once every 10 years or so depending upon regional climatology. In the future, assuming global warming in northern latitudes, the risk of snow damage could increase, because the relative occurrence of snowfall near temperatures of zero could increase.

The severity of snow damage is related to tree characteristics. Stem taper and crown characteristics are the most important factors controlling the stability of trees. Slightly tapering stems, asymmetric crowns, and rigid horizontal branching are all associated with high risk. However, the evidence on species differences is less clear due to the interaction with location. Management of forests can alter risk through choice of regeneration, tending, thinning and rotation. However, quantification and comparison of the absolute effect of these measures is not yet possible. An integrated risk model is required to allow the various locational and silvicultural factors to be assessed. Plans are presented to construct such a model, and gaps in knowledge are highlighted.

• Nykänen, E-mail: mn@mm.unknown
• Broadgate, E-mail: mb@mm.unknown
• Kellomäki, E-mail: sk@mm.unknown
• Peltola, E-mail: hp@mm.unknown
• Quine, E-mail: cq@mm.unknown

Linear programming (LP) is an important method for allocation of wood inventory stock. It is, for instance, used alone in tactical planning systems, which currently are in wide use at the higher hierarchical level in the functionally decentralized planning of the Finnish forest industry. Unfortunately, LP as a solution method has not been capable of handling spatial data that seem to characterize planning systems in geographical decentralization. In the present study, GIS was used to assimilate data from different wood procurement functions, to calculate transportation distances and cost figures, and to write the data in ASCII files, which were then used as input for the LP model. Using the experiments and methods of GIS on a planning system developed according to participatory planning, the results of this study suggest that the participatory method was faster than the conventional LP method, when solved using actual data. The participatory method was also capable of providing the same global optimum for a wood allocation problem. The implications of these results for improving operational and tactical planning of wood procurement in Finland are discussed.

• Palander, E-mail: tp@mm.unknown

Models for individual-tree basal area growth were constructed for Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), pubescent birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) growing in drained peatland stands. The data consisted of two separate sets of permanent sample plots forming a large sample of drained peatland stands in Finland. The dependent variable in all models was the 5-year basal area growth of a tree. The independent tree-level variables were tree dbh, tree basal area, and the sum of the basal area of trees larger than the target tree. Independent stand-level variables were stand basal area, the diameter of the tree of median basal area, and temperature sum. Categorical variables describing the site quality, as well as the condition and age of drainage, were used. Differences in tree growth were used as criteria in reclassifying the a priori site types into new yield classes by tree species. All models were constructed as mixed linear models with a random stand effect. The models were tested against the modelling data and against independent data sets.

• Hökkä, E-mail: hh@mm.unknown
• Alenius, E-mail: va@mm.unknown
• Penttilä, E-mail: tp@mm.unknown

Cut-off importance sampling (CIS) is introduced as a means of sampling individual trees for the purpose of estimating bole volume. The novel feature of this variant of importance sampling is the establishment on the bole of a cut-off height, H_C, above which sampling is precluded. An estimator of bole volume between predetermined heights H_L and H_U > H_C is proposed, and its design-based bias and mean square error are derived. In an application of CIS as the second stage of a two-stage sample to estimate aggregate bole volume, the gain in precision realized from CIS more than offset its bias when compared to the precision of importance sampling when H_C = H_U.

• Robinson, E-mail: ar@mm.unknown
• Gregoire, E-mail: tg@mm.unknown
• Valentine, E-mail: hv@mm.unknown

Three most promising protection methods of pine pulp wood stacks against the attacks of Tomicus piniperda L. were compared. The methods were the covering of stacks by fibreglass-strengthened paper or twofold achrylene netting, removing the upper parts of stacks, and enhanced planning of the placement of the timber store using ARC/INFO GIS-software. T. piniperda was observed to strongly prefer the upper parts of the stacks: 90 % of the beetles occurred within 0.5 meters of the top of the stacks. Covering of the stacks decreased the attack density of T. piniperda, and the protection effect of covering was 80 %. Due to long transport distances and fragmentation of forest landscape the relocation of timber store was found to be an unsuitable method in the practical level. Also, taking into account the costs of the method, removing of the upper parts of stacks was considered to be the optimal solution.

• Jääskelä, E-mail: mj@mm.unknown
• Heliövaara, E-mail: kh@mm.unknown
• Peltonen, E-mail: mp@mm.unknown
• Saarenmaa, E-mail: hs@mm.unknown

Distribution and occurrence of bark beetles and other forest insects in relation to environmental variation were analysed by multivariate methods. Eight different forest edges were studied using 10 x 10 m sample plots that formed 200 m linear transects perpendicular to the forest edge. Forest edge affected the distribution of insect species only in the edges between mature, non-managed spruce stands and clear cuts or young seedling stands, but not in the pine stands. The occurrence of the selected forest insects mainly depended on variables associated with the amount and quality of suitable woody material. The most significant environmental variables were forest site type, crown canopy coverage, tree species, number of stumps, number of dead spruce trunks and amount of logging waste at site. Quantitative classification of species and sample plots showed that some specialized species (Xylechinus pilosus, Cryphalus saltuarius, Polygraphus poligraphus and P. subopacus) adapted to mature spruce forests, tended to withdraw from the forest edge to interior stand sites. By contrast many generalized species (Pityogenes chalcographus, P. quadridens, Pissodes spp., Hylurgops palliatus, Tomicus piniperda, Dryocoetes spp. and Trypodendron lineatum) benefitted from cuttings and spread over stand borders into mature forest.

• Peltonen, E-mail: mp@mm.unknown
• Heliövaara, E-mail: kh@mm.unknown
• Väisänen, E-mail: rv@mm.unknown

In this paper, different approaches and results concerning forest tax design are reviewed. In particular, comparisons are made between Scandinavian approaches, which rely on the two-period model, and North American approaches, which largely rely on the Faustmann model. Existing work is critically evaluated according to several stylized facts that are common among forest taxation problems. These include the second-best forest policy environment, joint production of public and private forest goods, the dynamic nature of forest capital, public and private ownership, competition between forest and non-forest sectors, and global policy constraints on taxation design. The gaps in addressing stylized facts are used to motivate new research directions. Problems and appropriate public finance literature are identified for investigating forest tax policy under government budget constraints, fiscal federalism, dynamic forest tax design, open economy forest tax policy, and econometric studies of reform. One conclusion reached from discussing future research is that two period and dynamic models will continue to prove useful in analysing taxation design from the government's perspective.

• Amacher, E-mail: ga@mm.unknown

The purpose of this article was to collate the literature on fungal diseases that occur on seedlings in forest nurseries. It describes the symptoms of the diseases, the infection pattern of each fungus and the possibilities of controlling the diseases. As background a short introduction is given on forests and nursery practices in Finland.

• Lilja, E-mail: al@mm.unknown
• Kurkela, E-mail: tk@mm.unknown
• Lilja, E-mail: sl@mm.unknown
• Rikala., E-mail: rr@mm.unknown

The purpose of this study was to test the benefits of a forest site quality map, when applying satellite image-based forest inventory. By combining field sample plot data from national forest inventories with satellite imagery and forest site quality data, it is possible to estimate forest stand characteristics with higher accuracy for smaller areas. The reliability of the estimates was evaluated using the data from a stand-wise survey for area sizes ranging from 0.06 ha to 300 ha. When the mean volume was estimated, a relative error of 14 per cent was obtained for areas of 50 ha; for areas of 30 ha the corresponding figure was below 20 per cent. The relative gain in interpretation accuracy, when including the forest site quality information, ranged between 1 and 6 per cent. The advantage increased according to the size of the target area. The forest site quality map had the effect of decreasing the relative error in Norway spruce (Picea abies) volume estimations, but it did not contribute to Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) volume estimation procedure.

• Tokola, E-mail: tt@mm.unknown
• Heikkilä, E-mail: jh@mm.unknown

The purpose of this study was to compare the Weibull distributions estimated for the entire growing stock of a stand and separately for Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) in describing the basal area diameter distributions in mixed stands. The material for this study was obtained by measuring 553 stands located in eastern Finland. The parameters of the Weibull distribution were estimated using the method of maximum likelihood. The models for these parameters were derived using regression analysis. Also, some parameter models from previous studies were compared with the measured distribution. The obtained distributions were compared using the diameter sums of the entire growing stock, diameter sums by tree species and of the sawtimber part of the growing stock. The results showed that far more accurate results were obtained when the distributions were formed using parameter models separately for the different tree species than when using parameter models for the entire growing stock. This was already true when considering the entire growing stock of the stand and especially when the results were examined by tree species. When the models for the entire growing stock were applied by tree species in relation to basal areas, the results obtained were overestimates for Norway spruce and underestimates for Scots pine. The models from earlier studies, where parameter models were estimated separately for tree species from the National Forest Inventory data, showed good fits also in regard to the data of this study.

• Maltamo, E-mail: mm@mm.unknown

Possibilities of distance-independent and -dependent competition indices to describe the competition stress of an individual tree was studied in Southern Finland. Five half-sib open-pollinated families and one check lot of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) was used as study material in order to analyse competitive interactions of crown form and stand density variation. Almost all competition indices correlated strongly with radial increment. Thus distance-independent indices were adequate to describe competition in young row plantations, where distance effects between trees were implicitly eliminated. Correlations between indices and height increment were not significant. Along with the increase in competition, the width and length of the crown and the diameter increment of the stem of some narrow-crowned families decreased slowly compared to wide-crowned families.

• Mäkinen, E-mail: hm@mm.unknown

This paper reports on the possibility and difficulties in building growth models from past Forest Administration records on cut and growth in the Italian Alps. As a case study, a matrix model was calibrated for uneven-aged forests in the Valsugana valley of the Trentino province. The model gave reliable predictions over 30 years, and plausible long-term forest dynamics, including steady-states that are similar to virgin forests. The results support the view that the current forests are deeply altered as to composition, relative to what would obtain from natural growth. They also support the concept of long cyclic changes in natural stands, gradually approaching a climax state. Shortcomings of the data are that they do not come from an experimental design, they are not always accurate, and they must be supplemented with other information, especially concerning mortality. Still, these cheap and available data can lead to workable models adapted to local conditions, with many management applications.

• Virgilietti, E-mail: pv@mm.unknown
• Buongiorno, E-mail: jb@mm.unknown

The carbon reservoir of ecosystems was estimated based on field measurements for forests and peatlands on an area in Finland covering 263,000 km² and extending about 900 km across the boreal zone from south to north. More than two thirds of the reservoir was in peat, and less than ten per cent in trees. Forest ecosystems growing on mineral soils covering 144,000 km² contained 10–11 kg C m^-2 on an average, including both vegetation (3.4 kg C m^-2) and soil (uppermost 75 cm; 7.2 kg C m^-2). Mire ecosystems covering 65,000 km² contained an average of 72 kg C m^-2 as peat. For the landscape consisting of peatlands, closed and open forests, and inland water, excluding arable and built-up land, a reservoir of 24.6 kg C m^-2 was observed. This includes the peat, forest soil and tree biomass. This is an underestimate of the true total reservoir, because there are additional unknown reservoirs in deep soil, lake sediments, woody debris, and ground vegetation. Geographic distributions of the reservoirs were described, analysed and discussed. The highest reservoir, 35–40 kg C m^-2, was observed in sub-regions in central western and north western Finland. Many estimates given for the boreal carbon reservoirs have been higher than those of ours. Either the Finnish environment contains less carbon per unit area than the rest of the boreal zone, or the global boreal reservoir has earlier been overestimated. In order to reduce uncertainties of the global estimates, statistically representative measurements are needed especially on Russian and Canadian peatlands.

• Kauppi, E-mail: pk@mm.unknown
• Hänninen, E-mail: ph@mm.unknown
• Henttonen, E-mail: hh@mm.unknown
• Ihalainen, E-mail: ai@mm.unknown
• Lappalainen, E-mail: el@mm.unknown
• Posch, E-mail: mp@mm.unknown
• Starr, E-mail: ms@mm.unknown
• Tamminen, E-mail: pt@mm.unknown

Estimates of individual heritability and genetic correlation are presented for a set of 10 growth and quality traits based on data from 16 Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) progeny trials in Finland. Seven of the traits (tree height, stem diameter, crown width, Pilodyn value, branch diameter, branch angle and branch number) were objectively measured, whereas three traits (stem straightness, branching score and overall score) were assessed visually. The genetic correlations were mostly moderate or low, and favourable from the tree breeder's point of view. All variables related to tree size correlated relatively strongly and positively. Tree height exhibited a more favourable genetic relationship with the crown form traits than diameter, the latter showing positive correlation with branch diameter. Except for the slight negative correlation between branch angle and branch diameter, the branching traits were not notably correlated. The pilodyn value was positively correlated with stem diameter, reflecting negative correlation between diameter growth and wood density. The highest genetic correlations occurred among the two visually evaluated quality scores and branch diameter. All of the heritabilities were less than 0.4. Overall score, Pilodyn, branch angle, branching score and tree height showed the highest heritability.

• Haapanen, E-mail: mh@mm.unknown
• Annala, E-mail: ma@mm.unknown
• Velling, E-mail: pv@mm.unknown