Determining an Accurate and Cost-Effective Individual Height-Diameter Model for Mongolian Pine on Sandy Land

Height-diameter (H-D) models are important tools for forest management practice. Sandy Mongolian pine plantations (Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica) a major component of the Three-North Afforestation Shelterbelt in Northern China. However, few H-D available plantations. In this paper we compared different equations found literature predicting tree height, using diameter at breast height and additional stand-level predictor variables. We tested if variable is necessary to produce more accurate results. The dominant was used as describe variation relationship among plots. that basic mixed-effects model provided similar predictive accuracy generalized model. Moreover, it had advantage reducing sampling effort. calibration, which heights two thickest trees plot were included calibrate random effects, resulted reliable individual estimations. Thus, with above-described calibration design can be an cost-effective solution estimating northern