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FOREST  STOCKING 
EQUATIONS: 
Their  Development 
and  Application 

by  Peter  F.  Ffolliott 
and  David  P.  Worley 

March  1973 

USDA  Forest  Service 
Research  Paper  RM-102 
Rocky  Mountain  Forest 
and  Range  Experiment  Station 
Forest  Service 

U.S.  Department  of  Agriculture 


Abstract 


Using  point-sampling  techniques,  stocking  conditions  at  a 
sample  point  can  be  described  in  terms  of  whether  or  not  the  point 
is  stocked  to  a  minimum  basal  area  level  corresponding  to  a 
particular  basal  area  factor  (BAF).  Stocking  equations  relating 
proportions  of  a  forest  stocked  to  minimum  basal  area  levels 
corresponding  to  each  BAF  used  in  an  inventory  can  be  defined  by 
regression  analyses.  Stocking  equations  can  be  used  to  help 
evaluate  land  treatment  potential,  determine  treatment  feasibility 
on  a  single  management  unit,  and  as  a  basis  for  setting 
operating  priorities  on  a  number  of  management  units. 

Keywords:  Stand    density,    basal    area    measurement,  forest 
management,  forest  surveys. 


USDA  Forest  Service 
Research  Paper  RM-102 


March  1973 


FOREST  STOCKING  EQUATIONS: 
Their  Development  and  Application 


by 

Peter  F.  Ffolliott,  Associate  Silviculturist 

and 

David  P.  Worley,  Principal  Economist 
Rocky  Mountain  Forest  and  Range  Experiment  Station^ 


'Research  reported  here  was  conducted  at  the  Station's  Research  Work 
Unit  located  at  Flagstaff,  in  cooperation  with  Northern  Arizona  University; 
Station's  central  headquarters  maintained  at  Fort  Collins,  in  cooperation  with 
Colorado  State  University.  Ffolliott  is  currently  associate  professor.  Department 
of  Watershed  Management,  University  of  Arizona,  Tucson;  Worley  is  with  USDA 
Forest  Service  Northeastern  Forest  and  Range  Experiment  Station's  Unit  at 
Columbus,  Ohio. 


Contents 


Page 


Introduction   1 

Theory  Behind  Development  of  Stocking  Equations   1 

Synthesis  of  Stocking  Equations  —  An  Illustration   2 

Study  Areas   2 

Methods   2 

Results   3 

Applications  of  Stocking  Equations   5 

Setting  Realistic  Limits  for  Forestry  Practices   5 

Decisionmaking  at  Different  Levels  of  Interest   6 

Setting  Operating  Priorities   6 

Development  of  Distribution  and  Density  Functions....  6 

Summary  and  Conclusions   7 

Literature  Cited   8 


^FOREST    STOCKING  EQUATIONS: 


Their  Development  and  Application 

Peter   F.   Ffolliott   and  David   P.  Worley 


Introduction 

Point  sampling  techniques  are  widely 
used  for  inventorying  forests.  These  inventories 
provide  data  on  average  basal  area  (or  volume, 
number  of  trees,  and  so  forth)  per  acre  for  forest 
managers.  Such  inventories  may  yield 
additional  information  regarding  the  propor- 
tions of  a  forest  stand  stocked  to  minimum  basal 
area  levels. 

Even-aged  stands  with  regular  spacing 
patterns  resulting  from  plantations  or  extended 
periods  of  management  can,  possibly,  be 
described  by  average  basal  area  per  acre.  With 
uneven-aged  stands  of  irregular  spacing 
patterns,  however,  another  statistic  —  the 
proportion  of  the  stand  stocked  to  a  minimum 
basal  area  level  —  would  be  useful  to  set  realistic 
limits  for  forestry  practices,  judge  suitability  of 
an  area  for  management  practices,  or  set 
priorities  for  cultural  or  harvesting  operations 
among  forest  areas.  Such  information  can  be 
derived  from  stocking  equations,  as  described 
here. 

The  purposes  of  this  paper  are  to:  (1) 
outline  the  theory  behind  the  development  of 
stocking  equations,  (2)  illustrate  the 
methodology  of  stocking  equation  synthesis, 
and  (3)  demonstrate  applications  of  stocking 
equations  in  forest  management  decision- 
making. 


Theory  Behind  Development  of  Stocking 
Equations 

The  basic  theory  of  point  sampling  is  well 
known.  The  number  of  trees  tallied  at  a  sample 
point,  multiplied  by  the  basal  area  factor  (BAF) 
used,  gives  an  estimate  of  basal  area  per  acre  at 
that  sample  point.  A  sample  point  is  stocked  to 
basal  area  levels  of  50, 70,  and  100  square  feet  per 
acre  on  the  basis  of  5,  7,  or  10  trees  tallied  with  a 
BAF  of  10.  Estimates  from  a  number  of  sample 
points  are  averaged  to  estimate  the  basal  area  of 
the  forest  area. 

The  use  of  a  single  BAF  can  incorrectly 
describe  the  stocking  situation  at  a  single  point, 
however,  due  to  irregular  spacing  patterns  and 
the  variety  of  tree  sizes  frequently  associated 
with  natural  timber  stands  (fig.  1).  For  example, 
a  sample  point  would  be  considered  stocked  to  a 
basal  area  level  of  75  square  feet  if  three  trees 
were  tallied  with  a  BAF  of  25.  But,  it  is  possible 
that  no  trees  would  be  tallied  with  a  BAF  of  75,  in 
which  case  the  sample  point  would  not  be 
considered  stocked  to  75  square  feet.  Conversely, 
assume  one  of  the  three  trees  tallied  with  a  BAF 
of  25  is  close  enough  to  the  sample  point  to  be 
tallied  with  a  BAF  of  100.  The  tally  with  a  BAF  of 
25  would  underestimate  this  stocking  condition. 

Empirical  trials  in  cutover  ponderosa  pine 
stands  in  Arizona  corroborate  the  above 
examples.  Sample  points  with  a  single  tree 


Figure  1. — Irregular  spacing 
patterns  and  intermixed 
size  classes  in  Arizona 
ponderosa  pine  stands. 


2*-l 


tallied  with  a  BAF  of  25  were  also  stocked  with  a 
BAF  of  50  and  75  half  the  time.  Sample  points 
stocked  with  two  trees  with  a  BAF  of  25  were 
stocked,  with  a  BAF  of  50,  only  84  percent  of  the 
time,  and  sample  points  stocked  with  three  trees 
with  a  BAF  of  25  were  stocked  with  a  BAF  of  75 
only  three-quarters  of  the  time. 

If  it  is  not  possible  to  correctly  describe 
stocking  conditions  at  a  single  sample  point  with 
a  single  BAF,  it  follows  that  it  may  not  be 
possible  to  describe  the  proportion  of  a  forest 
stand  stocked  to  arbitrarily  specified  basal  area 
levels.  A  more  accurate  method  for  determining 
the  proportion  of  a  stand  stocked  to  different 
basal  area  criteria  is  through  the  use  of  stocking 
equations.  The  synthesis  of  stocking  equations 
is  based  on  two  assumptions. 

First,  a  sample  point  is  considered  stocked 
to  a  given  minimum  basal  area  level  if  at  least 
one  tree  is  tallied  with  a  BAF  corresponding  to 
that  level,  or  not  stocked  at  that  level  if  no  trees 
are  tallied.  This  concept  about  stocking 
conditions  has  been  suggested  as  a  way  of 
determining  the  proportion  of  a  stand  stocked  to 
a  single  minimum  basal  area  level  defined  by  a 
specified  management  objective  (Roberts  1964). 
In  the  absence  of  specific  management  guide- 
lines, an  inventory  system  employing  a  range  of 
BAF's,  allowing  sample  points  to  be  described  in 
terms  of  being  stocked  to  a  corresponding  range 
of  minimum  basal  area  levels,  is  advantageous. 

Secondly,  the  proportion  of  a  forest  stand 
stocked  to  a  given  minimum  basal  area  level  can 
be  estimated  from  the  proportion  of  sample 
points  stocked  to  that  minimum  level,  provided 
the  sampling  of  stocking  conditions  was 
unbiased.  Similarly,  relationships  can  be 
established  between  proportions  of  a  stand 
stocked  to  minimum  basal  area  levels 
corresponding  to  each  BAF  used  in  the 
inventory.  These  relationships  assume  mathe- 
matical forms  which  can  be  defined  empirically 
through  regression  analyses.  The  equations 
describing  these  regressions  are  stocking 
equations,  the  dependent  variable  being  the 
proportion  of  a  forest  stand  stocked  to  minimum 
basal  area  levels  within  limits  dictated  by  the 
BAF's  used  in  the  inventory. 


Synthesis  of  Stocking  Equations  — 
An  Illustration 

To  illustrate  methodology,  stocking 
equations  have  been  developed  to  describe 
cutover  and  virgin  ponderosa  pine  (Pinus 
ponderosa  Laws.)  stands  in  north-central 
Arizona. 


Study  Areas 

Data  representing  a  cutover  ponderosa 
pine  stand  were  collected  from  watershed  12, 
encompassing  425  acres,  on  the  Beaver  Creek 
watershed  (Brown  1971),  45  miles  south  of 
Flagstaff.  At  the  time  of  measurement,  half  of 
the  merchantable  sawtimber  volume  had  been 
cut  from  the  area  between  1943  and  1950. 
Sawtimber  volume  averaged  3,700  board  feet  per 
acre,  and  the  site  index  (Meyer  1961)  varied  from 
45  to  60  feet  at  100  years.  Soils,  derived  from 
basalt  parent  material,  are  classified  in  the 
Brolliar  and  Siesta-Sponseller  soil  management 
areas  (Williams  and  Anderson  1967).  The  area 
was  sampled  with  197  points  arranged  in  four 
random  starts  with  four  strata  (Shiue  1960). 

Data  from  a  virgin  ponderosa  pine  stand 
were  collected  on  the  Long  Valley  Experimental 
Forest,  65  miles  southeast  of  Flagstaff.  At  the 
time  of  the  study,  this  was  one  of  the  few 
remaining  areas  in  Arizona  where  a  virgin  stand 
could  still  be  found  on  a  good  timber-growing 
site.  Timber  on  the  1,280  acres  comprising  the 
Forest  was  uneven-aged,  with  different  age 
classes  occurring  as  small,  even-aged  groups. 
Sawtimber  volume  averaged  20,500  board  feet 
per  acre,  and  the  site  index  (Meyer  1961)  was  85 
to  90  feet.  Soils,  formed  from  limestone  and  sand- 
stone, are  classified  in  the  Hogg-McVickers 
series  (Anderson  et  al.  1963).  One  hundred  sixty- 
six  points  arranged  in  an  8-chain  by  8-chain  grid 
provided  the  sample  design  here. 


Methods 

Sample  points  on  both  study  areas  were 
considered  stocked  or  not  stocked  on  the  basis  of 
trees  tallied  with  an  angle  gage  corresponding  to 
BAF's  of  5,  10,  25,  50,  75,  100,  125,  150,  175,  200, 
and  250.  Diameters  (d.b.h.,o.b.)  of  all  tallied  trees 
were  recorded  to  allow  subsequent  assignment 
into  size  classes. 

The  data  were  subjected  to  regression 
analyses  to  develop  stocking  equations 
describing  (a)  all  size  classes  and  (b)  individual 
size  classes  on  the  two  study  areas.  Linear 
regressions  had  been  used  previously  to  describe 
the  proportions  of  a  cutover  ponderosa  pine 
stand  stocked  to  minimum  basal  area  levels 
between  25  and  75  square  feet  (Ffolliott  and 
Worley  1965).  Here,  straight-line  prediction 
mechanisms  performed  well  over  a  limited  range 
of  basal  area  levels.  More  complex  curvilinear 
forms  were  required,  however,  for  regressions 
that  defined  stocking  conditions  near  the 
extremes  of  a  stand  population  —  low  or  high 
stocking  levels  for  all  timber  size  class  elements 
within  a  stand  —  or  for  particular  size-class 


2 


components.  Furthermore,  several  scatter 
diagrams  revealed  an  inflection  point  near  the  Y- 
axis.  Consequently,  commonly  used  linear  trans- 
formations proved  unsatisfactory. 

A  computer  program  (Jameson  1967)  that 
approximates  a  5-parameter  transition  growth 
curve  describing  general  sigmoidal  relation- 
ships (Grosenbaugh  1965)  was  arbitrarily 
selected  to  illustrate  the  development  of  stocking 
equations.  Other  mathematical  models  and 
computer  programs  designed  to  produce  a 
sigmoid  form  might  give  similarly  good  results, 
j  As  a  practical  matter,  the  closeness  of  fit  to  the 
data  illustrated  in  figure  2  suggests  hand 
plotting  may  be  adequate  for  developing  curves 
for  many  purposes. 


Results 

Stocking  equations  describing  all  size 
classes  of  ponderosa  pine  on  the  two  study  areas 
are  illustrated  in  figure  2.  Stocking  equations 
developed  for  the  sawtimber  (at  least  11.0  inches 
diameter),  pole  (4.0  to  10.9  inches  diameter),  and 
sapling  (less  than  4.0  inches  diameter)  size 
classes  (fig.  3)  are  summarized  as  follows: 


Beaver  Creek  (watershed  12) 

(1)  Sawtimber 

Y  =  100  -  89.1  (l-e-°-"'") 

(2)  Poles 

Y  =  100  -  89.2  (l-e-°-°i^")  "'^ 

(3)  Saplings 

Y  =  100  -  103.8  (1-6-°'°°^'^)  °- 
Long  Valley  Experimental  Forest 

(1)  Sawtimber 

Y  =  100  -  24.1  {■[-e-'-°°'n 

(2)  Poles 

Y  =  100  -  96:5  (i-e-°-°°«'^)  "'^ 

(3)  Saplings 

Y  =  100  -  101.1  (1-6-°-°'^'^)  °- 


3 


Summation  of  the  three  size-class  components  at 
a  given  basal  area  level  may  exceed  the  stand 
population  stocking  at  that  level,  since  many 
sample  points  were  stocked  with  more  than  a 
single  size  class. 


The  stocking  equations  allow  us  to 
estimate  the  proportion  of  a  forest  stand  stocked 
by  a  stand  element  to  minimum  basal  area  levels 
up  to  250  square  feet.  Solving  stocking  equations 
for  numerous  alternative  basal  area  levels  may 


4 


i 


become  time  consuming.  To  ease  computations, 
a  supplementary  computer  program  can  be 
written  to  solve  equations  in  terms  of  the 
proportions  of  a  stand  stocked  to  any  inter- 
mediate basal  area.  Generally,  estimates 
obtained  from  a  graphical  presentation  of  the 
stocking  equation  will  suffice. 


Applications  of  Stocking  Equations 

A  truly  adequate  description  of  the  char- 
acteristics of  timber  on  a  management  unit 
must  answer  a  variety  of  questions  of  manage- 
ment specialists  regarding  timber  production. 
Stocking  equations  help  provide  such  answers, 
by  defining  the  proportion  of  a  forest  stand  on  a 
management  unit  stocked  to  minimum  basal 
area  levels  dictated  by  management  objectives. 

Setting  Realistic  Limits 
for  Forestry  Practices 

Stocking  equations  can  help  a  manager 
reach  a  decision  as  to  the  feasibility  of  imposing 
a  treatment  (such  as  harvesting,  thinning,  and 
so  forth)  on  a  management  unit.  It  is  assumed 


that  the  proportion  of  a  forest  stand  stocked  to  a 
minimum  basal  area  level  which  corresponds  to 
the  basal  area  level  prescribed  by  treatment  will, 
subsequently,  represent  the  proportion  of  the 
stand  that  will  be  placed  under  treatment. 

For  example,  suppose  a  silvicultural 
practice  calls  for  a  uniform  thinning  of  all 
sawtimber  in  a  forest  stand  to  a  basal  area  level 
of  50  square  feet  per  acre,  the  assumed 
"optimum"  in  terms  of  a  sawtimber  manage- 
ment potential.  However,  a  stocking  equation 
developed  for  the  management  unit  may  reveal 
only  43  percent  of  the  stand  could  meet  the  treat- 
ment stocking  objective  (fig.  4).  A  decision  may 
then  need  to  be  made  regarding  treatment 
feasibility.  Possibly,  the  original  prescription 
could  be  discarded  in  favor  of  one  that  would 
place  a  larger  proportion  of  the  stand  on  the 
management  unit  under  treatment.  This  could 
be  achieved  by  reducing  the  uniform  thinning 
treatment  to  25  square  feet  per  acre.  Unfor- 
tunately, thinning  to  this  alternative  stocking 
level  may  result  in  a  lower  sawtimber  manage- 
ment potential.  Due  to  the  greater  proportion  of 
the  area  treated  (fig.  4),  however,  the  outcome 
could  be  more  favorable  in  the  long  run.  The  final 
decision  must  be  a  compromise  between 
obtaining  the  maximum  management  potential, 


_  100  - 


Figure  4. — Graphic  representation  of  stocking 
equations  describing  sawtimber  size  class 
in  an  Arizona  ponderosa  pine  stand  (Beaver 
Creek  watershed  12).  Dashed  lines  refer 
to  a  text  example  of  the  application  of 
stocking  equations. 


50         100        150  200 
Minimum  basal  area  (sq.ft.  per  acre) 


250 


5 


as  prescribed  by  treatment,  and  extending  the 
treatment  to  the  largest  possible  proportion  of 
the  stand  on  the  management  unit. 

Regardless  of  what  a  specific  land  treat- 
ment is  to  accomplish,  the  application  of 
stocking  equations  will  help  evaluate  treatment 
potential  and  prescribe  treatment  feasibility.  A 
range  specialist  may  ask  "What  proportion  of  a 
management  unit  is  stocked  in  excess  of  a  given 
basal  area  level  considered  maximum  to  allow 
acceptable  forage  production  for  allotment 
management?"  An  economist  interested  in  costs 
might  ask  "How  much  of  a  management  unit 
needs  to  be  treated,  and  to  what  intensity  does 
the  treatment  need  to  be  applied,  to  bring  the 
tract  to  a  prescribed  stocking  level?"  A  timber 
manager  might  need  data  describing  the  extent 
of  merchantable  sawtimber  to  a  basal  area  level 
considered  the  minimum  for  profitable 
harvesting. 

Decisionmaking  at  Different 
Levels  of  Interest 

If  the  "optimum"  basal  area  level  criterion 
for  sawtimber  management  potential  is  50 
square"  feet  per  acre,  we  saw  (fig.  4)  that  43 
percent  of  the  management  unit  described  above 
would  meet  the  treatment  stocking  objective. 
This  elementary  type  of  statistic  might  be  called 
primary,  or  at  the  first  level  of  interest. 

If  the  sampling  intensity  is  great  enough, 
other  levels  of  interest  can  be  exploited  from 
stocking  equations.  Our  timber  manager  might 
ask  "If  43  percent  of  the  management  unit  meets 
the  sawtimber  treatment  prescription,  how 
much  of  this  latter  area  will  be  stocked  with 
residual  trees  of  submerchantable  size?"  This  is 
an  example  of  a  secondary  level  of  interest. 
Source  data  from  the  proportion  of  the  manage- 
ment unit  that  meets  the  treatment  prescription 
can  be  subjected  to  regression  or  graphic 
analysis.  For  our  example,  the  proportion  of  the 
management  unit  that  meets  the  sawtimber 
treatment  prescription  stocked  with  submer- 
chantable ponderosa  pine  at  various  minimum 
basal  area  levels  is: 


Basal  area  of 

Cutover 

submerchantable 

area 

ponderosa  pine 

stocked 

(Sq.  ft./acre) 

(Percent) 

20 

82 

40 

69 

60 

59 

80 

50 

100 

42 

The  above  information  could  provide  the 
basis  for  scheduling  planting  or  determining  site 
preparation  costs.  For  instance,  if  60  square  feet 
of  basal  area  per  acre  is  judged  satisfactory 
stocking  for  advanced  regeneration  after 
cutting,  59  percent  of  the  proportion  of  the 
management  unit  that  meets  the  sawtimber 
treatment  prescription  is  already  stocked,  and 
reproduction  measures  need  be  planned  for  41 
percent. 


Setting  Operating  Priorities 

The  output  of  stocking  equations  —  the 
proportion  of  a  management  unit  stocked  by  a 
stand  element  to  a  specified  criterion  —  can  be 
used  with  other  information  to  set  management 
priorities.  This  can  be  illustrated  by  an  example. 

Ten  Beaver  Creek  watersheds,  similar  to 
watershed  12,  were  inventoried  so  that  stocking 
equations,  and  timber  volume  information, 
could  be  developed.  Let  us  rank  these  water- 
sheds according  to  the  desirability  of  harvesting 
ponderosa  pine  sawtimber  to  achieve  the  "best 
release"  of  pole-sized  ponderosa  pine  trees  and  a 
minimum  release  of  a  timber  "weed"  species, 
Gambel  oak  (Quercus  gambelii  Nutt.).  Direct 
information,  obtained  from  the  stocking 
equations,  is  the  proportion  of  each  watershed 
stocked  with  pole-sized  ponderosa  pine,  and  the 
proportion  of  each  watershed  stocked  with 
Gambel  oak.  Selected  criteria  are:  (a)  a  minimum 
sawtimber  cut  of  1,000  board  feet  per  acre,  (b)  at 
least  25  percent  of  the  watershed  stocked  with 
pole-sized  ponderosa  pine  at  a  minimum  basal 
area  level  of  50  square  feet  per  acre,  and  (c)  no 
more  than  25  percent  of  the  watershed  stocked 
with  Gambel  oak  at  a  minimum  basal  area  level 
of  50  square  feet  per  acre.  This  information  is 
arrayed  in  table  1. 

The  application  here  combines  the  area 
information  —  the  output  of  stocking  equations 
—  with  sawtimber  volume  estimates  to 
determine  cutting  priorities.  Individual  water- 
sheds are  eliminated  from  consideration  when 
they  do  not  meet  one  or  more  criteria.  Those 
remaining  are  ranked  on  a  sawtimber  volume 
basis.  They  could  be  ranked  on  any  combination 
of  the  above  three  criteria  which  could  be  shown 
to  maximize  benefits  or  minimize  costs. 


Development  of  Distribution 
and  Density  Functions 

The  relationships  defined  by  stocking 
equations  are  exceedance  curves,  which  describe 
the  proportion  of  a  stand  stocked  to  minimum 
basal  area  levels.  Distribution  functions,  which 


6 


Table  1 . --Pr i or i t i es  for  harvesting  large  sawtimber 


Watershed 

Sawt  imber 

\i  c\  1  limp 

Area  stocked  at  minimum  of 
50  square  feet  of-- 

Feas  i  b  i 1 i  ty 
priori  ty 

1  1 

imits   (a,b,c)—  and 
rankings   (1 >2,3) 

Pol e-s  i  zed 

nonrlproca  ninp 

Gambe 1 
oak 

Bd. ft. /acre 

—    —    —    —  Pprrpnt" 

A 

2,800 

29 

16 

2 

B 

3,110 

38 

23 

1 

C 

830 

26 

13 

Insufficient 

vol ume 

D 

1  ,660 

22 

26 

1 nsuf f  i  cient 

poles;  too  much  oak 

E 

1  ,230 

29 

31 

Too  much  oak 

F 

2,410 

29 

22 

3 

G 

18 

38 

1 nsuf f  i  ci  ent 

poles;  too  much  oak 

H 

16 

16 

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1 

1  ,  0  jU 

27 

28 

Too  much  oak 

J 

570 

if6 

13 

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vol ume 

—  Limit 

ng  criteria:  (a) 
(b) 

a  minimum  sawtimber  cut  of  1,000  board  feet  per  acre; 

at  least  25  percent  of  the  watershed  stocked  with  pole-sized  pon- 

derosa  pine  at  a  minimum  basal  area  level  of  50  square  feet  per 

acre; 

(c)  no  more  than  25  percent  of  the  watershed  stocked  with  Gambel  oak  at 
a  minimum  level  of  50  square  feet  per  acre. 


describe  cumulative  frequency,  can  be  readily 
developed  from  these  relationships  if  desired. 
With  distribution  functions,  it  would  be  possible 
to  derive  density  functions,  which  define  the 
probabilities  of  obtaining  a  small  interval  of 
forest  stocking  considered  prerequisite  to 
imposing  a  land  treatment.  Estimates  of  these 
probabilities  can  be  of  value  in  decisionmaking 
at  the  first  level  of  interest . 


Summary  and  Conclusions 

1.  Using  point  sampling  techniques, 
stocking  conditions  at  a  sample  point 
can  be  described  in  terms  of  whether  or 
not  the  point  is  stocked  to  a  minimum 
basal  area  level  corresponding  to  a 
particular  BAF. 

2.  Mathematical  relationships  between  pro- 
portions of  a  forest  stand  stocked  to  mini- 
mum basal  area  levels  corresponding  to 
each  BAF  used  in  an  inventory  can  be 
defined  through  regression  analyses.  The 


equations  describing  these  regressions  are 
stocking  equations;  the  dependent  variable 
is  the  proportion  of  a  forest  stand 
stocked  to  a  given  minimum  basal  area 
level,  and  the  independent  variable  is 
the  minimum  basal  area  level. 

3.  Stocking  equations  describing  cutover  and 
virgin  ponderosa  pine  stands  in  Arizona 
were  developed  by  means  of  a  computer 
program  that  approximates  a  sigmoidal 
relationship.  These  equations  define  the 
proportion  of  these  two  stands  stocked  to 
minimum  basal  area  levels  up  to  250  square 
feet  per  acre. 

4.  Stocking  equations  can  be  used  to  help 
evaluate  land  treatment  potential,  to 
determine  treatment  feasibility  on  a 
single  management  unit,  and  as  a  basis 
for  setting  operating  priorities  on  a 
number  of  management  units. 

5.  To  apply  this  technique,  the  land  manager 
must  have  a  multiple  BAF  inventory 
made  for  the  management  unit  in  question, 
then  prepare  stocking  equations  or  graphs 
similar  to  those  described  here. 


Literature  Cited 

Anderson,  T.  C,  A.  A.  Love,  L.  D.  Wheeler,  and 
J.  A.  Williams. 

1963.  Soil    management   report  for  Long 
Valley    Ranger    District,  Coconino 
National  Forest.  97  p.  U.S.  For.  Serv., 
Albuquerque,  N.  Mex. 
Brown,  Harry  E. 

1971.  Evaluating   watershed  management 
alternatives.    Am.    Soc.   Civil  Eng., 
J.       Irrig.       and       Drain.  Div. 
97(IR1):  93-108. 
Ffolliott,  Peter  F.,  and  David  P.  Worley. 

1965.  An  inventory  system  for  multiple 
use  evaluations.  U.S.  For.  Serv. 
Res.  Pap.  RM-17,  15  p.  Rocky  Mt. 
For.  and  Range  Exp.  Stn.,  Fort 
Collins,  Colo. 
Grosenbaugh,  L.  R. 

1965.  Generalization  and  reparametrization 
of  some  sigmoid  and  other  nonlinear 
functions.  Biometrics  21:  708-714. 


Jameson,  Donald  A. 
1967.  The   relationship   of  tree  overstory 
and    herbaceous    understory  vege- 
tation. J.  Range  Manage.  20:  247-249. 
Meyer,  Walter  H. 
1961.  Yield  of  even-aged  stands  of  ponderosa 
pine.  U.S.  Dep.  Agric.  Tech.  Bull.  630, 
59  p.  (slightly  revised). 
Roberts,  Edward  G. 
1964.  A  new  insight  to  point  sampling. 
J.  For.  62:  267-268. 
Shiue,  Cherng-Jiann. 
1960.  Systematic   sampling  with  multiple 
random  starts.  For.  Sci.  6:  42-50. 
Williams,  John  A.,  and  Truman  C.  Ander- 
son, Jr. 

1967.  Soil  survey  of  Beaver  Creek  area, 
Arizona.  75  p.  U.S.  Dep.  Agric, 
Wash.,  D.  C. 


Agriculture-CSU,  Ft.  Collins 


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