Bruce E. Borders

• University of Georgia

A study was conducted to identify geographical variation in loblolly pine bark and wood properties at the whole-tree level and to quantify the responses in whole-tree bark and wood properties following contrasting silvicultural practices that included planting density, weed control, and fertilization. Trees were destructively sampled from both conv...

To sustainably manage loblolly pine plantations for bioenergy and carbon sequestration, accurate information is required on the relationships between management regimes and energy, carbon, and nutrient export. The effects of cultural intensity and planting density were investigated with respect to energy, carbon, and essential nutrients in abovegro...

A new method for developing dominant height prediction models, which is closely related to certain earlier guide curve-based methods, is derived from linear prediction theory by directly modeling variances and covariances of height remeasurements without involving any local parameters. This method relies on population-averaged mean height-age curve...

The goal of this project was to determine if 3-PG could accurately predict growth of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantations across a range of sites in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain provinces of Georgia using a fixed physiological parameter set. The model was slightly modified to improve predictions of volume, mortality and initial biomass growth....

As an important GIS function, spatial interpolation is one of the most often used geographic techniques for spatial query, spatial data visualization, and spatial decision-making processes in GIS and environmental science. However, less attention has been paid on the comparisons of available spatial interpolation methods, although a number of GIS m...

We examined the effects of cultural intensity (operational and intensive), planting density (741, 1483, 2224, 2965, 3706 and 4448 trees ha−1) and their interaction on aboveground biomass accumulation and allocation for 12-year-old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) trees in the Upper Coastal Plain and Piedmont of the southeastern United States. Cultura...

Two loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) culture/density studies were established in 1995-1998 across the Lower Coastal Plain and Upper Coastal Plain/Piedmont regions of the southern USA. Each installation contains 12 plots of loblolly pine planted at six levels of density from 741 to 4448 trees/ha in combination with two levels of cultural intensity, op...

To strengthen financial returns and sustainably manage pine plantations for a mixture of traditional merchantable forest products and biomass for energy, we may need to modify and optimize loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantation management regimes. There is limited information on stand-level biomass production and partitioning, which is critical...

2Over the past several decades, federal incentive programs have encouraged the restoration of bottomland forests throughout the West Gulf Coastal Plain (WGCP) and the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV). Programs such as the Conservation Reserve (CRP) and Wetlands Reserve (WRP) Programs have been marginally successful (Stanturf et al. 2001). F...

• Background A culture/density study was established in 1995 in the Lower Coastal Plain of the southeastern USA to evaluate the effects of intensive silviculture and current operational practices on the growth and yield of loblolly pine plantations across a wide range of planting densities (741–4,448 trees/ha). The operational regime consisted of b...

The effects that competing vegetation and nitrogen limitation have on the current annual increment (CAI), leaf biomass, and growth efficiency (GE) of different aged loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) stands planted on a Piedmont and lower Coastal Plain location in Georgia, U.S.A. were determined by measuring stands receiving a factorial combination of...

To determine the importance of competition control and annual fertilization on leaf gas exchange, light-saturated net photosynthesis (Asat), stomatal conductance (gs), and internal CO2 concentration (Ci) were measured multiple times in different-aged loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) stands growing at a Piedmont (BF Grant) and Coastal Plain (Waycross)...

A multilevel nonlinear mixed-effects modeling approach is used to model loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) stand volume growth in conjunction with four silvicultural treatments. Comparisons of treatment effects over time are integrated with the model-building process. Three-level random effects are introduced into a modified Richards growth model. With...

Interpolated cubic splines were used to estimate diameters and partial or total volumes for 285 trees from Pinustaeda L. plantations in southern Brazil. A range of 4 to 13 interpolated points was tested in an attempt to determine how many points are necessary to adequately represent stem taper. The various number of combinations with 13 or fewer po...

Research concerning herbicide use to control unwanted vegetation in intensively managed pine plantations is increasing. The need for appropriate experimental design and adequate treatment replication is discussed. Situations are discussed in which multiple comparison tests are correct, and these are contrasted with situations in which response surf...

Silvicultural treatments of fertilization (F) and competing vegetation suppression (H) have continued to increase as demands for forest products have grown. The effects of intensive annual F and H treatments on soil C, N, microbial biomass, and CO2 efflux were examined in a two-way factorial experiment (control, F, H, FxH) in late-rotation (20+ yea...

Image fusion is an important component of digital image processing and quantitative image analysis. Image fusion is the technique of integrating and merging information from different remote sensors to achieve refined or improved data. A number of fusion algorithms have been developed in the past two decades, and most of these methods are efficient...

Tree heightdiameter relationships are usually studied using linear or nonlinear models, but exogenous variables, especially spatially autocorrelated and dependent variables of tree diameter or height, are not often considered in heightdiameter modeling. Three types of spatial regression models spatial lag model, spatial error model, and spatial Dur...

Data through age 26 from a well-designed study established in 1979 were analyzed with a repeated-measures analysis of variance approach to evaluate effects of site preparation treatments, complete competition control, and repeated fertilization on growth of slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) plantations on Spodosols and non-Spodosols in the flatw...

• A site preparation study was established in 1986 to evaluate the effect of different site preparation treatments on growth and yield of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations on the Piedmont and Upper Coastal Plain regions of the southern United States. Site preparation treatments included: (1) burn only, (2) chop-burn, (3) shear-pile-disk, (...

Completely cloud-free remotely sensed images are preferred, but they are not always available. Although the average cloud coverage for the entire planet is about 40 percent, the removal of clouds and cloud shadows is rarely studied. To address this problem, a closest spectral fit method is developed to replace cloud and cloud-shadow pixels with the...

A simple idea is proposed to develop polymorphic base-age invariant models with multiple asymptotes: the asymptotic parameter is taken as the site-specific parameter (χ) and one of the other parameters is taken as dependent on χ as a simple power function. This approach is a constrained form of the generalized algebraic difference approach (GADA) a...

Timber inventory data is the basis for many monetary transactions related to timber and timberland sale and (or) purchase as well as for development of timber management plans. The value of such data is well known and much appreciated for sale and (or) purchase of standing merchantable timber. Unfortunately, the value of timber inventory data for p...

Diameter distribution models are used extensively in forest growth and yield modeling. They are usually fitted with fixed area sample plot data but applied at the stand level, the unit of forest production planning. In this process, the distribution obtained at the plot level is assumed to be representative of that at the stand level. In other word...

Poor silvicultural treatment decisions for established stands represent an opportunity for southern forest landowners, as investments in woody control and fertilization offer an attractive return for most southern pine stands, natural and plantation. The negative effects of woody competition on southern pine growth have been repeatedly demonstrated...

l\lanagmrig timber mn a fiscally sound way requires timber inventory infornna tiori, This information helps the landowner make welluinformed dec iS1 0fl5 abou I cull iiiiI IT ca Imenls. 5 Well as thinning arid harvest decisions. Ihe complexity of timber inventory usually requires the assistance of a professioniur.

The varying (local) parameter(s) in site index models can be treated as fixed or random. Two primary subject-specific approaches to height modeling, the dummy variable method (fixed individual effects) and the mixed model method (random individual effects), were compared using Chapman–Richards type models fitted to second-rotation loblolly pine (Pi...

A study was initiated in 1994 to evaluate the effects of bedding timing and frequency and pre-plant herbicide application, with and without post-plant herbaceous weed control, on growth of three slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) plantations and one loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantation on flatwoods sites. Site preparation treatments included...

Remeasurement data from permanent plots of six loblolly pine studies were used to develop mortality models for second-rotation loblolly pine plantations growing in the Piedmont/Upper Coastal Plain (PUCP) and Lower Coastal Plain (LCP) of the southern United States. The model consists of two complementary parts: a generalized logistic equation predic...

Two main approaches to estimating parameters of dominant height curves (derived by algebraic difference approach (ADA) and generalized ADA (GADA)), the dummy variable method and the difference approach (the error-in-variable (EIV) method along with ordinary least-squares (OLS) fits) are compared using second-rotation loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.)...

Using forest inventory data and Landsat ETM+ data, linear fixed-effects models and linear mixed-effects models are developed based on the allometric growth model. The surface area of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVIsa) is developed from the triangulated irregular network (TIN) with the aid of image-processing and the three-dimension...

The K nearest neighbor (KNN) method of image analysis is practical, relatively easy to implement, and is becoming one of the most popular methods for conducting forest inventory using remote sensing data. The KNN is often named K nearest neighbor classifier when it is used for classifying categorical variables, while KNN is called K nearest neighbo...

The impact of extended herbicide (H) and annual fertilizer (F) treatments on the mineral soil carbon (C) pool and nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) availability were analyzed in managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations in the Piedmont of Georgia in stands ranging from 4 to 16years old. Mineral soil C, N, P, and extractable P were measured...

A two-step modeling strategy was applied to develop a survival model for loblolly pine plantations infected with fusiform rust. Data came from repeated measurements of 40 permanent paired plots: one plot of the pair was left to develop completely untreated and the other had a mid-rotation understorey vegetation removal treatment. The model consists...

Understanding the mode of tree interactions in mixed-species forest stands with high species richness is critical for modeling ecological dynamics and developing tools to support management decisions in such stands. Using stem-mapped data from a large permanent plot in a natural temperate species-rich forest in the southeastern USA, we developed in...

Because stand growth and the uptake of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are proportional under most circumstances, a goal of silvicultural operations should be to increase uptake of nutrients by crop trees. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of annual fertilization (average of 72kgNha−1y−1 and total of 154kgPha−1) and complet...

Traditionally, modeling of permanent plot individual tree survival has not considered the multiple sources of heterogeneity and correlation that may arise due to the multilevel data structure inherent in the design (e.g., clustering of trees within a plot). Permanent plots are sampled periodically; therefore, data are interval-censored because it i...

We present two-stage list sampling estimators and methodology that are useful in a forest inventory context. The advantages of this sampling method are discussed and illustrated with an inventory of a 3,419-acre timber tract. In this example, two-stage list sampling resulted in strata level and tract level estimates that were very close to estimate...

Bottomland hardwoods in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV) have become one of the most endangered ecosystems in the United States. This ecosystem is an important ecological resource providing many functions and values such as wildlife habitat, water quality protection, biodiversity, and timber production. Active management and restoration...

Loblolly pine (Pinustaeda L.) stands in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont of Georgia were subjected to four intensive silvicultural re- gimes to monitor and record relative tree growth. Treatments included: intensive mechanical site preparation, complete vegetation con- trol with multiple applications of herbicides, annual high rates of nitrogen ferti...

Individual-tree diameter growth and mortality models were developed for the bottomland mixed-species hardwood stands in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV). Data came from 5-year remeasurements of continuous forest inventory plots. Six species groups were created according to diameter structure, tree growth, mortality, recruitment and ligh...

A large source of variability in yield predictions is due to estimation of future surviving trees per unit area. Previous whole-stand survival modeling efforts have concentrated on modeling the empirical survival curve. Modeling hazard functions, an approach to survival analysis commonly used in fields such as medicine and sociology, can be applica...

Allometric relationships between total and individual tree compartment (stem, root, branch, and foliage) biomass were investigated for intensively managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations in the Lower Coastal Plain and Piedmont of Georgia. It was found that the percent of stem biomass increases with age while the inverse relationship was...

Stem growth, developmental patterns and canopy relations were measured in a chronosequence of intensively managed loblolly pine stands. The study was located on two distinct sites in the lower coastal plain of Georgia, USA and contained a factorial arrangement of complete control of interspecific competition (W) and annual nitrogen fertilization (F...

Prediction models of foliage and branch biomass were derived based on the foliage distribution within the crown and the pipe model theory. Resulting models were fitted to data collected from intensively managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations in the Lower Coastal Plain and Piedmont of Georgia. We found that diameter outside bark at the b...

We present here a proof of concept for a new study of the forest management practices in Georgia, USA. The study is based on a long-term wood supply analysis of the current forest resources. We pursue questions about the sustainable bases of existing practices and significance of hypothetical scenarios relating to various management practices and r...

Geometry-oriented methodology yielded a compatible taper-volume-weight system of models whose parameters were estimated using data from intensively managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations in the lower coastal plain of Georgia. Two segments (separated at a stem ratio of 0.60 of total height) depicted taper, volume, and weight variations o...

A mathematical iteration-based projection approach is applied in developing a management-oriented tree growth model for unthinned loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations according to the biomass balances among the physical compartments of a tree. In this study, the biomass of each tree compartment is used as a state variable. Tree growth is char...

With mean annual increments up to 5.4 cords/ac/yr, six loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) research sites in Georgia produced yields on par with other results from intensively managed loblolly plantations around the world. Cultural treatments in the Georgia study include complete control of vegetation other than the planted pines with multiple applicati...

Described is an initial state of a new cooperative study at the School of Forest Resources, University of Georgia, in analysis of long-term wood supply in Georgia. The answers sought pertain to various questions about sustainability of current wood supply in the context of the available literature, unpublis hed research on intensive plantation mana...

We describe here selected technical aspects of a large-scale sustainability analysis of wood supply in Georgia with particular focus on: i) available data; ii) species group definition; iii) yield tables. The study is conducted at the School of Forest Resources, University of Georgia, as a new cooperative effort financed by the Traditional Industry...

By integrating a variable-form differential equation for taper, a segmented-stem system of models involving a taper equation, merchantable volume equation, and total stem volume equation results. Through the constraints imposed on the coefficients of integration, the taper model is continuous at the inflection points, and all components in the syst...

Several mortality functions were examined to develop useful equations to predict early seedling survival of site-prepared loblolly pine plantations in the Georgia Piedmont region. Models were developed to predict surviving trees per acre at age 5 from stand initiation, as well as from age 1, under optimal planting and handling practices. The models...

Non-linear regression was used to fit taper functions with data from Pinus taeda plantations in Southern Brazil. Five models were evaluated: Kozak et al. (1969); a fifth-degree polynomial; Max and Burkhart (1976); Parresol et al. (1987); and Clark et al. (1991). Diameter prediction at 12 points along the stem was made to verify the accuracy and pre...

Estimating the board foot volume of sawtimber size trees is one of the most common tasks of field foresters. The most often used board foot volume tables in the southeastern United States were developed in the mid-1940s. Much information has been developed during the past 50 yr concerning the volume and shape of tree stems for many species grown in...

An individual tree volume equation was developed for mangrove trees in northeast Brazil. On each of 50 felled sample trees, the volume of the main stem, branches and stilt roots with diameters greater than 3 cm was determined using Smalian's formula. The volume model , where VOL is volume of the tree (m3), DAR is diameter at the height of the highe...

Prediction equations for four distribution percentiles and a parameter recovery method together give Weibull-based diameter distributions for site-prepared plantations of loblolly (Pinus taeda L.) and slash (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) pine. Separate sets of equations for the piedmont, upper coastal plain, and lower coastal plain provinces resulted fr...

Stand management decisions should be based on economic considerations for profit-oriented organizations and individuals. Maximization of bare land value is an appropriate criterion to use for such decisions. It is argued that planting, bedding, harvesting, and transportation costs vary by stand density and should therefore be incorporated into the...

A seedling survival study for site-prepared loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations, consisting of 43 locations, was established during two planting seasons in 1986-87 in the Georgia Piedmont. Seedlings with top lengths less than 15 cm and with root collar diameters less than 2.5 mm survived significantly worse than larger seedlings, but such sm...

Three yield projection models are compared and contrasted. All three models project yield implicitly by first projecting stand tables. The first model uses the Weibull probability density function, the second a percentile-based algorithm, and last a modification of an individual tree distance independent basal area projection model. It is shown tha...

Four estimators of herbicide treatment efficacy based on hardwood crown measurements were evaluated. Using data from untreated plots, expected post-treatment size of treated hardwood rootstocks was obtained by accounting for growth between pre- and post-treatment evaluations with an unadjusted mean, a ratio-of-means estimator, and a regression esti...

Age 8 measurements and analysis are reported and discussed for a large side-by-side loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.)/slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) species comparison study. It is shown that loblolly pine performed better than slash pine in CRIFF soil groups A, D, F, and G while slash pine and loblolly pine performed similarly in CRIFF soil gro...

Growth and yield models are often composed of systems of related equations. Parameter estimation techniques such as two-stage and three-stage least squares have been suggested for fitting such systems. An alternative theoretically sound parameter estimation procedure that can be used for any number of sequentially related equations, linear and nonl...

Growth data taken over a 27-year period are used to examine development patterns in a lowland rain forest. All recorded species and families are examined for ingrowth, mortality, group behaviour and increment characteristics. Successional changes are also studied. Twelve of the 35 families present account for over 80% of the total number of trees a...

Data from a spacing study in an 11-year-old plantation of Terminalia superba were examined with response models. Analysis of variance of the latin-square design with four spacings indicated significant effects of spacing on survival and mean diameter, as well as basal area, height and volume growth. Response model analysis showed that a planting de...

A satisfactory characterization of stand tables need not require a prior mathematical probability distribution. The method described here uses a system of percentiles defined across the range of the stand table. Based on a uniform distribution of tree frequency between adjacent percentiles, stems-per-acre are proportioned into diameter size classes...

Several workers have reported relationships between the incidence of fusiform rust in pine plantations and climatic, edaphic, biotic, and cultural factors. These relationships were investigated quantitatively with a regionwide databank compiled from several replicated unthinned stand density studies. Data from over 2,000 remeasured permanent plots...

A system of compatible and interrelating equations (after Clutter 1963) was developed to predict growth and yield in volume, basal area, and dominant height for site-prepared slash pine plantations in the Southeast. Because of logical restrictions on certain parameters and contemporaneous correlations among the variables, the usual unrestricted lea...

Change in numbers of surviving trees in repeatedly thinned old-field slash pine plantations was found to be significantly related to age, density, site index, and level and type of thinning. A difference equation model was derived and fitted with data from 824 growth periods from 289 monumented plots. This difference equation formulation is a logic...

Site index curves for slash pine plantations were improved by splining segments of two published height-age models in the form of algebraic differences thus avoiding the numerical approximation of derivatives. The splined site curves fit better than any single model across the entire range of data and have the desirable properties: (1) height is ze...