Basal area

Basal area is the area of a given section of land that is occupied by the cross-section of tree trunks and stems at the base. The term is used in forest management and forest ecology. Basal area is the area of a given section of land that is occupied by the cross-section of tree trunks and stems at the base. The term is used in forest management and forest ecology. In most countries, this is usually a measurement taken at the diameter at breast height (1.3m or 4.5 ft) of a tree above the ground and includes the complete diameter of every tree, including the bark. Measurements are usually made for a plot and this is then scaled up for 1 hectare of land for comparison purposes to examine a forest's productivity and growth rate. To estimate a tree's basal area B A {displaystyle BA} , use the tree's diameter at breast height D B H {displaystyle DBH} in inches with the following formula: B A = π × ( D B H / 2 ) 2 144 {displaystyle BA={frac {pi imes (DBH/2)^{2}}{144}}}