Functional growth analysis of red pine trees under variable intensities of competition

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Abstract
A functional approach is proposed for comparing the development of individual red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) trees which had been growing under different intensities of competition from ages 13 to 43. Growth rate measures, based on absolute growth rate, relative growth rate and the ratio of absolute growth rate to crown width, were obtained from the differentiation of a cumulative growth function. Individual tree data were obtained from stands of the same age, but with different initial spacings: 1.5 × 1.5 m, 2.4 × 2.4 m, and 4.3 × 4.3 m. The Chapman-Richards function represented adequately the growth trends of individual trees. While cumulative growth indicated a fairly consistent pattern, that is, the bigger the tree initially, the bigger it remained, absolute growth rate was not related to tree size. Some of the smallest trees had the greatest absolute growth rate. Relative growth rate was more informative on the effect of competition. Before competition became severe, small trees had greater relative growth rates than large trees, and the effect of competition was to reverse this trend. The ratio of absolute growth rate to crown width indicated that the ability of trees to occupy the aerial growing space was not related to tree size. Key words: red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.), growth functions, absolute growth rate, relative growth rate, functional approach

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