RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BREAST-HEIGHT AND WHOLE-STEM GROWTH INDEXES FOR RED SPRUCE ON WHITEFACE MOUNTAIN, NEW-YORK

Describes relationships between tree growth indices based on ring width measurements at 1.4 m aboveground and indices derived from whole-stem analysis for Picea rubens in a high-elevation spruce-fir forest. Strong relationships between mean standardized chronologies of breast-height and whole-stem growth indices validate the use of breast-height growth indices to represent year-to-year variation in mean growth performance of red spruce. A volume-equation-based procedure is described that provides better dendrochronological estimates of annual volume increment than estimates based on basal area increment alone. -from Author