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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. For. Glob. Change
Sec. Forest Management
Volume 7 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/ffgc.2024.1249298

Assessing Larix principis-rupprechtii productivity and its determinants based on national forest inventory data in Hebei Province, China

Provisionally accepted
Yiwen Wang Yiwen Wang Niqiao Fan Niqiao Fan Jialong Qian Jialong Qian Jing Zhang Jing Zhang Zhaoxuan Ge Zhaoxuan Ge Chong Liu Chong Liu Zhidong Zhang Zhidong Zhang *
  • Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Tree productivity is not only determined by stand structure, but also influenced by soil chemical properties, climate and topography. However, the relative importance of each indicator on larch (Larix principis-rupprechtii) productivity were uncertain. In this study, 76 pure larch forest plots were selected based on national forest inventory (NFI) data in Hebei Province, China. Structural equation model (SEM) was used to analyze the direct and indirect effects of stand structure, soil chemical properties, climate and topography on larch productivity, and to quantify the relative importance of each indicator in determining productivity. The results showed that stem volume growth (SVG) of larch was influenced by a combination of stand density, diameter at breast height (DBH), mean winter snow (PAS), annual temperature range (TD), slope, and alkali-hydrolysis nitrogen (AN). SVG tended to increase with decreasing stand density and AN content and increasing DBH. Stand density, DBH and AN were more important than PAS, TD, and slope in explaining SVG variation. The results can provide a scientific basis for adaptive management of larch forests.

    Keywords: larch, tree growth, stand structure, Soil nutrient, Climatic factor

    Received: 12 Jul 2023; Accepted: 27 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wang, Fan, Qian, Zhang, Ge, Liu and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Zhidong Zhang, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.