Estimating growing stock is one of the main objectives of forest inventories. It refers to the stem volume of individual trees which is typically derived by models as it cannot be easily measured ...directly. These models are thus based on measurable tree dimensions and their parameterization depends on the available empirical data. Historically, such data were collected by measurements of tree stem sizes, which is very time- and cost-intensive. Here, we present an exceptionally large dataset with section-wise stem measurements on 40'349 felled individual trees collected on plots of the Experimental Forest Management project. It is a revised and expanded version of previously unpublished data and contains the empirically derived coarse (diameter ≥7 cm) and fine branch volume of 27'297 and 18'980, respectively, individual trees. The data were collected between 1888 and 1974 across Switzerland covering a large topographic gradient and a diverse species range and can thus support estimations and verification of volume functions also outside Switzerland including the derivation of whole tree volume in a consistent manner.
Abstract
Long-term changes in growth, physiology and stand structure, as well as differences due to species composition, were examined in six types of Swiss plenter forests: (1) Picea abies ...dominated, (2) mixtures of P. abies and Abies alba, (3) mixtures of P. abies, A. alba and Fagus sylvatica, (4) mixtures of Larix decidua, Pinus cembra/sylvatica and P. abies, (5) F. sylvatica dominated and (6) species diverse stands. Long-term changes were examined using 19 plots measured for an average of 94 years. These data were then combined with the literature plenter forest data to compare the growth and structure of 15 species compositions from Europe, North America and Australia. Over the past 100 years, common trends included increases in growth, maximum tree sizes, species diversity, and increasingly convex diameter distributions with fewer medium sized trees and more very large trees. Differences in growth between species compositions were generally consistent with their light-use efficiency, transpiration and water-use efficiency, which were calculated using a process-based model. Stand volume of each forest type was negatively correlated with the shade tolerance (but not crown architectures) of the species it contained, but no such correlations existed for stand basal area. This reflects the high structural variability of these forests (through time and between sites) as well as the high tree neighbourhood variability within plots, which appear to buffer the effects of stand density on regeneration and recruitment. This study shows that despite significant temporal and spatial variability in structure, the negative exponentially shaped diameter distributions were maintained in the long term by applying simple silvicultural principles rather than requiring a very specific stand structure, i.e. a certain stand density, or that all diameter classes strictly lie on the curve of a negative exponentially shaped diameter distribution. The values of stand structural characteristics reported in this study could be used as a guide for the conversion of relatively simply structured forests into plenter forests.
•Evaluating methods to derive stand descriptions from large-scale sampling data.•Multi-scale approach to improve initialisation of dynamic forest models.•Simultaneous parameter prediction method best ...to predict tree diameter distributions.•Random Forest approach best to predict tree species composition.
Most strategic and operational forest management decisions are taken based on stand-level information, and quantitative models of forest dynamics are key for developing sustainable management strategies. However, data on forest stands for the initialisation of such models that are representative at large spatial scales, e.g., countries or ecoregions, are often lacking. National Forest Inventories (NFIs) provide forest data from small sample plots at large spatial scales, yet deriving full stand information based on such data is challenging. Here, we evaluate seven methods of varying complexity for deriving quantitative stand descriptions based on sample data as provided by the Swiss NFI. We selected 271 extensively measured Swiss forests stands with unimodal diameter distributions, classified them as beech- vs. spruce-dominated in five development stages and randomly placed a small sized sample plot in each stand using the Swiss NFI sampling design (i.e., a circular plot of 500 m2). Seven modelling approaches were used to derive diameter distributions and species-specific stem numbers (i.e., tree species composition) from the sample data that are representative for a particular stand (local scale) and for stand types in general (generalised scale). The prediction performance of the modelling approaches was evaluated using 100 random samples per stand to calculate prediction errors. Generalised even-aged diameter distributions were best predicted by the simultaneous parameter prediction method (PPM), i.e. a combined three-step regression approach, with on average 1.3 to 2.5 times lower prediction errors compared to the simple pooling of diameter samples. However, uneven-aged diameter distributions were best predicted by pooling. At the local scale, the simultaneous PPM performed best for data from sample plots with fewer than 17 to 19 trees across all development stages. Prediction performance of the PPMs increased for structurally and spatially diverse local stands with positively skewed diameter distributions. A Random Forest approach was most suitable for predicting species composition at both the generalised and the local scale. Our study evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of methods to model stands based on data from small sample plots. We emphasise terminological pitfalls by consequently distinguishing local accuracy and generalised representativity of the stand descriptions. We demonstrate the feasibility of deriving locally accurate stands using data from small forest sample plots and evaluate the derivation of generalised stands representative at large regions. At both scales, our developments contribute to an improved initialisation of forest models and thus to a more realistic modelling of forest development under future boundary conditions.
Forests dominated by European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) are among both the most widespread in Europe and the most intensely exploited globally. One of the largest remnants of unmanaged beech forests ...in Europe is the Uholka-Shyrokyi Luh forest in Transcarpathia, Ukraine, covering 8,800 ha of primeval forest. In 2000, a permanent forest plot of 10 ha has been established in the Uholka massif. All living and dead trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 60 mm were identified to species, DBH measured, stems tagged and mapped. Since then, the plot has been remeasured in 2005, 2010, and 2015. In total, 4,820 individual trees were measured with 14,116 individual measurements throughout all four inventories. In spring 2018, an Airborne Laser Scan was carried out, covering the Uholka-Shyrokyi Luh forest. This data set allows us to derive a high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) of the plot area. European beech covers a share of ≈ 95% of the basal area (BA) of all living stems. While BA was relatively stable throughout all inventories (≈ 38 m²/ha), the number of stems increased considerably between 2010 and 2015 from 290 to 430 stems/ha. Additionally, the proportion of beech stems decreased from 95% in 2010 to 86% in 2015. The continuity of the share of beech on BA and the decrease in number of stems can be traced back to disturbance events, which led to an increase of more light demanding species in the recruitment but did not alter the distribution of BA as these small trees contribute very little to BA. The data set allows for important insights into the development and the spatial and temporal dynamics of primeval beech forests. It can be used to quantify the demographic processes growth, mortality, and recruitment, and to study inter- and intraspecific effects on demographic rates, stand structure, and species composition. No copyright or proprietary restrictions are associated with the use of this data set other than citation of this Data Paper.
In this paper, two methods for the extraction of airfoil coefficients from 3D CFD simulations of a wind turbine rotor are investigated, and these coefficients are used to improve the load prediction ...of a BEM code. The coefficients are extracted from a number of steady RANS simulations, using either averaging of velocities in annular sections, or an inverse BEM approach for determination of the induction factors in the rotor plane. It is shown that these 3D rotor polars are able to capture the rotational augmentation at the inner part of the blade as well as the load reduction by 3D effects close to the blade tip. They are used as input to a simple BEM code and the results of this BEM with 3D rotor polars are compared to the predictions of BEM with 2D airfoil coefficients plus common empirical corrections for stall delay and tip loss. While BEM with 2D airfoil coefficients produces a very different radial distribution of loads than the RANS simulation, the BEM with 3D rotor polars manages to reproduce the loads from RANS very accurately for a variety of load cases, as long as the blade pitch angle is not too different from the cases from which the polars were extracted.
A quasi-steady doublet-lattice correction method is used to predict aerodynamic gust responses of two different configurations: a swept wing, the so-called Aerostabil wing, and a transport aircraft ...configuration, the NASA Common Research Model. The results of the correction method are compared to uncorrected doublet-lattice results, and to results obtained from a nonlinear computational fluid dynamics solver, the DLR TAU-Code. The correction method agrees well with time-marching results obtained by TAU in the limit of dynamically linear gust amplitudes and improves with gust length. In separated transonic flow, an oscillation of the aerodynamic gust response can be computed.
Self-sustained shock wave oscillations on airfoils, commonly defined as shock buffet, can occur under certain combinations of transonic Mach number and angle of attack due to the interaction between ...the shock and the separated boundary layer. To help understanding buffet physics, a rigid supercritical wing model (OAT15A) was investigated in pre-buffet and buffet conditions using a combined application of BOS (Background Oriented Schlieren), deformation and force measurements. From the observation via BOS of the change of the shock location and the extent of the boundary layer separation with the AoA (angle of attack), the transition from stable shock to buffet was detected. A comparison with other research groups at supposedly similar aerodynamic conditions highlighted a great disparity among them in terms of buffet onset, amplitudes of buffet oscillations, and flow development (motion of the mean shock location with the AoA) after the onset. The average and rms (root mean square) of the surface displacement were computed together with the effective geometric AoA, taking into account the static torsional deformation of the model and its support. Moreover, the spectra of the balance and deformation data showed the same buffet peak as in the BOS spectrum, indicating a coupling between structure and flow, which increased with the AoA.
This paper presents a flutter analysis for the supercritical CAST 10-2 airfoil in a flow with free boundary layer transition based on CFD computations with the
γ
-
Re
θ
transition model. The results ...are compared to fully turbulent results obtained with the SST
k
-
ω
turbulence model. Unsteady RANS computations at
Re
c
=
2
×
10
6
are used to determine the aerodynamic derivatives. These derivatives are required to identify the flutter boundary for a 2 degree-of-freedom model by a k method. The transonic flutter boundary decreases for a flow with free boundary layer transition compared to a fully turbulent flow in the vicinity of the transonic dip. However, the flutter boundary at subsonic Mach numbers is raised for a transitional flow. In addition, the transitional frequency response is discussed: an aerodynamic resonance in connection with an instability of the transition region is observed and the possibility of a 1 degree-of-freedom flutter for transitional flows is shown.
PDF
