Development of Site Index Curves and Height-DBH Growth Model of Larix kaempferi for Deogyu Mountain in South Korea

AbstractIn this study, we aimed to develop site index curves and a height growth model using forest data with the measured height, diameter at breast height (DBH), and age targeting a Larix kaempferi stand located on Mt. Deogyu in Muju, Jeollabuk-do. The site index estimation was calculated using Chapman-Richards equation. The coefficients were found to be α = 20.7837, β = 0.0566, γ = 1.6607, and MSE = 1.2034. The height growth model of the dominant trees depending on the DBH was determined to be α = 0.4872, β = 0.3687, and MSE = 1.8212 using the Petterson growth model. The Mean residual values for above two models were analyzed as 0.00004 and −0.00007, respectively. When comparing the skewness and kurtosis of the residual, the skewness values were 0.1659 and −0.1272, and the kurtosis values were −0.2310 and −0.5543. Therefore, the fitness was considered to be good because they were close to the normal distribution. The results of Shapiro-Wilk test showed P-values (0.77 for the height growth model and 0.6...