Development of height to crown base models for thirteen tree species of the North American Acadian Region

Height to live crown base (HCB) is an important input variable for several growth and yield models. Since HCB is rarely measured in the field, it is often predicted using static models. Instead of predicting HCB, the Forest Vegetation Simulator Northeastern Variant (FVS-NE) uses an equation that predicts crown ratio (CR), which has not been well validated. The main goal of the present study was to construct a regional HCB model for thirteen selected tree species of the Acadian Region of North America. The specific objectives were to: 1) evaluate FVS-NE model predictions, 2) compare suitable model forms, and 3) assess influence of various covariates to improve predictions. We evaluated three model forms, namely Holdaway (1986), logistic, and exponential. The findings indicated that FVS-NE models were significantly biased for all species as the overall mean bias and root mean square error (RMSE) were 0.11 m and 1.80 m, respectively. A logistic equation with size (diameter at breast height [DBH], total heigh...

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