A Review of Past Research on Dendrometers

ABSTRACT. The purpose of a dendrometer is to measure tree diameter. Contact and noncontactdendrometers accomplish this task by collecting different metrics, including girth or distance betweentangent points on a tree stem. Many dendrometers have been developed in the last quarter centuryand many have been retired. This article summarizes instrument developments and applicationresults, contains an interpretation of the results, and provides guidance for dendrometer selection.F OR . S CI . 46(4):570–576.Additional Key Words: Instrumentation, diameter measurement, forest inventory, mensuration. Neil A. Clark is Research Forester, Integrated Life Cycle of Wood: Tree Quality, Processing, and Recycling, USDA Forest Service Southern ResearchStation–0503, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061—Phone: (540)231-4674; Fax: (540)231-8868; E-mail:neclark@vt.edu. Randolph H. Wynne is Assistant Professor, Department of Forestry, College of Natural Resources, Virginia Polyte chnic Institute andState University, 321 Cheatham Hall–0324, Blacksburg, VA 24061—Phone (540)231-7811; E-mail: wynne@vt.edu. Daniel L. Schmoldt is ResearchForest Products Technologist, Integrated Life Cycle of Wood: Tree Quality, Processing, and Recycling, USDA Forest Service Southern ResearchStation–0503, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061—Phone: (608)262-3313; E-mail: dlschmol@ facstaff.wisc.edu.Acknowledgments: The authors thank the reviewers for their time and valuable suggestions for improving the manuscript.Manuscript received May 3, 1999. Accepted April 10, 2000.This article was written by U.S. Government employees and is therefore in the public domain.

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