• Barker, Audrey A.
  University of Maine Graduate School
  

Leaf area (LA) and growth efficiency (GE, stemwood volume growth/projected leaf area) are key measures in biological studied of forest stand and tree productivity, but have not been explored for eastern white (Pinus Strobus L.). Such growth analyses require accurate estimates of individual tree LA, and an understanding of factors that influence GE. Tree age and competitive position in the forest canopy are known to influence GE. The objectives of this study therefore were 1) to develop a model to predict projected leaf area of an individual tree from it's sapwood area, and 2) to test the hypotheses that GE declines with tree age, and that GE varies with canopy position and leaf area of individual eastern white pine trees.

Equations relating sapwood area at breast height and at a crown base to projected leaf area (PLA) were developed for eastern white pine in central Maine. The relationships were based on a sample of sixteen destructively sampled pines from a wide range of ages and sizes. A model in which both sapwood area (at breast height or at crown base) and PLA were cube-foot transformed is recommended. Sapwood taper parameters did not improve predictions based on sapwood area at breast height