The assessment of tree row attributes by stratified two-stage sampling
Author(s)
Corona, Piermaria
Fattorini, Lorenzo
Date Issued
2006
Type
Article
Abstract
Tree row inventories are of increasing interest
because tree rows mitigate wind erosion and desertification,
protect agricultural crops, enhance rural landscape
quality, act as bio-corridors, carbon sinks, and a
source for bio-energy. The main objective of tree row
inventories is to estimate population parameters such as
total tree numbers, total tree numbers by species, the
mean stem diameter at breast height, the mean tree
height and total wood volume. The estimation of these
quantities may be straightforwardly carried out whenever
aerial images are available in such a way that tree
rows can be counted: in these cases, a two-stage cluster
sampling may be performed in which the primary units
sampled in the first stage are the tree rows in the study
area while the secondary units sampled in the second
stage are the trees within the selected rows. This paper
proposes two sets of two-stage estimators for the interest
parameters, based on the Horvitz–Thompson and ratio
criteria, together with the corresponding estimators for
their sampling variances. The use of stratification is also
considered. The proposed procedure was applied to
perform a tree row inventory in the Pontina plain
(Central Italy): in this case, the tree rows were enumerated
by means of ortho-corrected airborne images and
stratification was carried out on the basis of the prevailing
species and age classes. The inventory results are
interesting from a forestry perspective as well as for
checking the effectiveness of the procedure.
Additional information
L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore www.springerlink.com
Citation
Corona, P., Fattorini, L. 2006. The assessment of tree row attributes by stratified two-stage sampling. " European Journal of Forest Research" 125: 55-66.
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