A forest inventory method based on density‐adapted circular plot size

A method using sample plots with “fixed number of stems, random circular plot size”; in the stand‐description phase was studied both theoretically and empirically in several regards; it was also developed for practical purposes. We call this inventory method “the density‐adapted method”;. The advantage of this method, compared with the currently employed method, is that the work per sample plot is proportional to the amount of useful information gathered per sample plot. In simulation studies, “forests”; are simulated, and the density‐adapted method is then used in these “forests”;. Generally speaking, the bias amounts to a few percent in the realistic forests that are simulated. The bias is sometimes positive and sometimes negative. Positive bias results from a high degree of clustering, negative from high evenness. In actual stand structures, the density‐adapted method has been proven to produce an insignificant amount of bias. Long‐term prognoses in conjunction with timber assessment calculations have ...