CUMULATIVE VOLUME AND MASS PROFILES FOR DOMINANT STEMS AND WHOLE TREES TESTED FOR NORTHERN HARDWOODS

New models were presented to understand the relationship between the dominant stem and a whole tree using cumulative, whole-tree mass/volume profiles which are compatible with the current bole taper modeling paradigm. New models were developed from intensive, destructive sampling of 32 trees from a temperate hardwood forest in Michigan. The species in the sample were primarily American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.). The new profile models allowed for both mass and volume of both the dominant stem and branches to be estimated from ground level to the top of the tree. Nonlinear mixed effects models were used in the model development to account for the correlations among multiple measurements of an individual tree. Allometric scaling relationships between the dominant stem and branches can be directly derived from the new models and can be used to define sampling approaches to localize predictions of generalized whole-tree models via measurements of simple branch parameters.