An assessment of the statistical performance of the horizontal point sampling (HPS) in an open coppice forest

Abstract

Sampling surveys are broadly employed in forest inventories due to their efficiency in quantifying forest characteristics. To this end, selecting an appropriate sampling method is essential. This study introduces a new application of horizontal point sampling (HPS). We assess the statistical properties of HPS with variations in crown basal area factor (CBAF) and sample sizes (n). The study further conducts a comparative analysis between HPS and fixed-radius (FR) plot sampling methods. The study was done in an actual open coppice forest and in a simulated forest, using sampling simulations with a large number of repetitions. In HPS, a greater CBAF for a given sample size lead to a higher relative standard error (RSE %). Multiple regression model showed that both n and CBAF influence RSE %. There was an inverse relationship between n and RSE%, whereas a positive relationship was found between CBAF and RSE %. A combination of HPS and crown relascope is easily applicable in forest inventories. This combined method demonstrates efficiency, when compared to the traditional FR for estimating crown cover area in open coppice forests.

Keywords

Monte-Carlo simulation; Forest inventory; Open sparse oak forest; Zagros forest; Sampling methods

Published in

Austrian journal of forest science
2024, volume: 141, number: 3, pages: 215-240
Publisher: OSTERREICHISCHER AGRARVERLAG

SLU Authors

• Ramezani, Habib

  • Department of Forest Resource Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Forest Science

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3936435/v1

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/133120