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Growth rates of western myall ( Acacia papyrocarpa Benth.) during its main phase of canopy spreading
Author(s) -
LANGE R. T.,
Sparrow A. D.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
australian journal of ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1442-9993
pISSN - 0307-692X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1442-9993.1992.tb00813.x
Subject(s) - canopy , girth (graph theory) , trunk , tree canopy , longevity , tree (set theory) , forestry , geography , mathematics , environmental science , biology , ecology , combinatorics , genetics
Data collected by students during a decade are examined for use in constructing growth models of western myall trees during their mid‐life phase of canopy spreading. Measurements of tree canopy diameters are found to be too variable (between replicates and through time) to describe growth patterns, but measurements of trunk girth prove more reliable. Two models for growth are presented, based on the trunk girth data set. The models lead to similar estimates of the time taken for canopy spreading, viz. about 160 years, which is consistent with previous anecdotal evidence of western myall longevity.