A Forest Growth Model for the Natural Broadleaved Forests in Northeastern Korea

While a large sum of timber stock in private forests, especially broadleaved forests, has been ignored by their owners, a rising global concern about climate change and ecosystems has led to a renewed interest in natural broadleaved forest management strategies. This study establishes the forest growth model for the natural broadleaved forest of Gangwon-do based on the matrix model developed by Buongiorno and Michie. The matrix model by Buongiorno and Michie has been widely applied to study forest population dynamics, especially for uneven-aged forests. To develop an existing matrix model, our approach applies transitional probabilities of forest stands which are calibrated using National Forest Inventory data. Both long and short-term predicted simulation results show that the predicted average tree density and diameter distribution from our model are very close to the stand density and diameter distribution from observed data. Although the model simplifies reality, the results from our study confirm that our models are valid enough to predict the average stand status of the broadleaved forests in Gangwon-do.