Evaluating the Importance of Local Environment on Tree Structural Allometries

Allometric relationships relating various forest structural properties such as DBH, tree height and aboveground biomass have been developed through detailed field data collection both in the United States, and globally. However, there has been limited attention to explaining observed variability in these relationships. Often, a single relationship is developed for a single species, and is applied irrespective of environment. In this research, we attempt to explain allometry as a function of environment by focusing on the relationship between DBH, crown radius and tree height. Two primary datasets are used to conduct this research. First, the Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) dataset, including tree DBH and height information for the United States, are used to investigate variability in the relationship between DBH and tree height. Second, high-resolution airborne lidar datasets were collected from areas across the US, Canada and Costa Rica and are applied to investigate variability in the relationship between crown radius and height. The lidar datasets are run through a generalized canopy delineation algorithm to produce multilayered estimates of individual tree location, height, and crown radius. Power law functions are fit to the relationships between DBH and tree height, and crown radius and tree height. The mean and standard deviation of the power law exponents are compared to environmental attributes including precipitation, temperature, topography, and age since disturbance. This research demonstrates that although universal tendencies are observed in average power law exponents, considerable local variability exists that can be partially attributed to local environment. Therefore local environment, as well as tree species, should be accounted for in the development and application of allometric equations for forest studies.