Forest growth modelling: the state of the art

Abstract

Forest growth models are key tools for both managing and understanding forest dynamics. These models have evolved from yield tables to models that simulate ecological and physiological processes. Because several approaches exist for modelling forest growth, understanding their strengths and weaknesses is complex. Here, we present a review of forest growth modelling and focus on the most common types of models: growth and yield, succession, process-based, and hybrid. These models might or might not include stochastic components. Worldwide there is a trend towards building hybrid models, because they are best suited to represent the effect of climate change on tree growth. However, empirical evidence has not shown major differences in predictions between hybrid and simpler growth models. Finally, we emphasize that none type of growth model is demonstrably better than others and that each is used to answer a great variety of research and management questions.