New model is first to predict tree growth in earliest stages of tree life

Land managers, forestry professionals and conservationists seek to predict how trees will grow so they can better manage existing forests and regrow forests after logging operations. Previous tree growth models can reasonably predict how trees grow once they are about 20 years old and achieve "crown closure" with the trees in the forest around them. Crown closure occurs when trees in a specific area grow wide and tall enough that their canopies connect. Now, University of Missouri researchers have created a new statistical model that accurately predicts tree growth from when they are first planted until they reach crown closure.

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