THE BIOLOGY OF FOREST GROWTH EXPERIMENT - AN INTRODUCTION

A comprehensive, multidisciplinary, field experiment was commenced in 1983 near Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, to study the effects of water and nutrients on growth of Pinus radiata. The study led to the development of a detailed mechanistic model of tree growth, of value in optimising forest growth and maintaining long-term site productivity. Major areas of research included the site water balance, soil and tree nitrogen dynamics and soil chemistry, growth and biomass production, canopy dynamics, canopy processes and growth modelling. This and accompanying papers report on results of the first 5 years of intensive study.