dc.contributor.author	Dyer, Michael E.	en
dc.contributor.committeechair	Burkhart, Harold E.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Zedaker, Shepard M.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Scrivani, John A.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Reynolds, Marion R. Jr.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Gregoire, Timothy G.	en
dc.contributor.department	Forestry	en
dc.date.accessioned	2014-03-14T20:17:26Z	en
dc.date.adate	1997-11-20	en
dc.date.available	2014-03-14T20:17:26Z	en
dc.date.issued	1997-11-13	en
dc.date.rdate	1997-11-20	en
dc.date.sdate	1997-11-13	en
dc.description.abstract	Data from three long-term field studies with loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations were used to examine inequality (Gini coefficient) trends in diameter and the relationship between diameter relative growth rate (r) and initial size. Analysis with two spacing studies shows inequality increases with increasing density. For a given initial density, inequality initially decreases and then begins to increase as trees compete for resources. The slope of the linear relationship between r and relative size also increases with increasing density. The slope is initially negative and switches to positive as competition intensifies. The switch in the slope of the r/size relationship occurs when the crown projection area exceeds 1.05 or when the crown ratio falls below 0.75. These results are consistent with the resource pre-emptive or dominance/suppression theory of intra-specific competition. The r/size trends are not evident when calculations are based on class means as opposed to individual trees. The slope of the r/size relationship is a function of stand height, density, and to a lesser extent, site quality. Density reduction through mid-rotation thinning tends to decrease the slope coefficient. The r/size trends are used to develop a disaggregation model to distribute stand-level basal area growth over an initial tree list. This approach compares well with two other disaggregation models but tends to over predict growth on the largest trees.	en
dc.description.degree	Ph. D.	en
dc.identifier.other	etd-101797-155415	en
dc.identifier.sourceurl	http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-101797-155415/	en
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10919/29298	en
dc.publisher	Virginia Tech	en
dc.relation.haspart	Front.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	chap1.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	chap2.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	chap3.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	chap4.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	chap5.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	chap6.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	back.pdf	en
dc.rights	In Copyright	en
dc.rights.uri	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/	en
dc.subject	Relative Growth Rate	en
dc.subject	Resource Depletion	en
dc.subject	Resource Pre-emption	en
dc.subject	Thinning	en
dc.title	Dominance/Suppression Competitive Relationships in Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda L.) Plantations	en
dc.type	Dissertation	en
thesis.degree.discipline	Forestry	en
thesis.degree.grantor	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	en
thesis.degree.level	doctoral	en
thesis.degree.name	Ph. D.	en

Dominance/Suppression Competitive Relationships in Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda L.) Plantations

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