A new non-destructive method for the estimation of annual height increment in standing trees

Petros Ganatsas; Lydia Petaloudi; Marianthi Tsakaldimi

doi:10.1016/j.mex.2023.102131

A new non-destructive method for the estimation of annual height increment in standing trees

MethodsX. 2023 Mar 12:10:102131. doi: 10.1016/j.mex.2023.102131. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Petros Ganatsas¹, Lydia Petaloudi¹, Marianthi Tsakaldimi¹

Affiliation

¹ Laboratory of Silviculture, Faculty of Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54 124, Greece.

Abstract

Measurement of tree growth is needed in many scientific and production sectors, especially in forestry for wood and biomass production. The assessment of annual height increment in standing living trees, under ambient field conditions, is challenging or even impossible. This study develops a new simple non-destructive method for the estimation of annual height increment in standing trees, based on sampling two increment cores for each targeted tree.,. Τhe method combines the tree annual ring-analysis and trigonometry. The extracted data by the method application can be widely used in many forest disciplines, such as forest ecology, silviculture, and forest management.•Annual height increment in standing trees is a valuable parameter needed in biology, ecology, and forestry.•Measurement of annual height increment in standing trees is a very difficult tusk.•This study develops a new non-destructive and simple method for the estimation of annual height increment in standing trees.

Keywords: Forest ecology; Forest ecosystems; Forest measurement; Non-destructive method for the estimation of tree annual height increment; Silviculture; Stand growth; Tree growth.