A Similarity Criterion for Forest Growth Curves

Comparison of forest growth curves has led many to the conclusion that there is a similarity between forest stands growing in different conditions. Thus, in the beginning of the past century Alexander Turin, a wellknown forest scientist, made an important empirical generalization: “The normal pine stands with equal heights at a certain age had the same growth in the past and will have the same growth in the future regardless of where they grow.” 1,2 This empirical generalization (like other generalizations of this sort) defines similarities between growth curves in a quantitative way.