Spatial Pattern of Trees in the Major Forest Types of Northern Ontario

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Abstract
This paper describes the spatial pattern, expressed by Pielou's nonrandomness index, of trees within 13 sampled tracts from the major forest types of northern Ontario. Results indicate that: (a) the majority of natural coniferous or mixedwood stands have highly clustered patterns; (b) hardwood stands or the hardwood component of the mixedwood stands show nearly 'random' spatial patterns; and (c) uniform spacing in natural stands is very rare. Results also indicate that spatial patterns vary considerably during stand development for the various species group – size class combinations within a stand and between different forest types. The importance of spatial pattern and stand population dynamics is pointed out with regard to growth simulation modelling and mechanized harvesting and thinning studies.

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