Spatial pattern of trees in the major forest types of northern Ontario

This paper describes the spatial pattern, expressed by Pielou's nonrandomness index, of trees within 13 sampled tracts from the major forest types of northern Ontario. Results indicate that: (a) the majority of natural coniferous or mixedwood stands have highly clustered patterns; (b) hardwood stands or the hardwood component of the mixedwood stands show nearly 'random' spatial patterns; and (c) uniform spacing in natural stands is very rare. Results also indicate that spatial patterns vary considerably during stand development for the various species group – size class combinations within a stand and between different forest types. The importance of spatial pattern and stand population dynamics is pointed out with regard to growth simulation modelling and mechanized harvesting and thinning studies.