Abstract

SANTIAGO-GARCIA, Wenceslao et al. Self-thinning and density management diagrams for Pinus patula fitted under the stochastic frontier regression approach. Agrociencia [online]. 2013, vol.47, n.1, pp.75-89. ISSN 2521-9766.

Forest management in the region of Zacualtipán, Hidalgo, Mexico, has focused in the last three decades on the cultivation of pure even-aged stands of Pinus patula, the native timber species of fastest growth and high commercial value. The rapid growth of P. patula requires appropriate management of stand density to properly schedule thinnings and optimize stands' rotation. In this study, we determined the maximum line size-density relationship or self-thinning considering the stochastic frontier regression and ordinary least squares approaches for Reineke and Yoda models. In the estimation, we used data derived from 42 permanent sampling plots of 400 m². The best estimates of the self-thinning line were obtained using the stochastic frontier models Truncated-normal and Half-normal of Reineke and Yoda. On this basis, we set diagrams for tree density management, considering the relative stand density index of Reineke (SDI) and that of Yoda (YDI). The method of stochastic frontier regression enables to directly estimate the upper limit of self-thinning without resorting to the selective use of data, where the points in which mortality from self-thinning has not yet exhibited are excluded from the analysis. For SDI and YDI, stochastic setting suggests a more conservative mortality rate compared to least squares fit. The method also allows a more efficient use of data, and incorporates information from inventory plots without remeasurements.

Keywords : Pinus patula; size-density; density diagram; density index.

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