Inferring forest fate from demographic data: from vital rates to population dynamic models.

ABSTRACT: As population-level patterns of interest in forests emerge from individual vital rates, modelling forest dynamics requires making the link between the scales at which data are collected (individual stems) and the scales at which questions are asked (e.g. populations and communities). Structured population models (e.g. integral projection models (IPMs)) are useful tools for linking vital rates to population dynamics. However, the application of such models to forest trees remains challenging owing to features of tree life cycles, such as slow growth, long lifespan and lack of data on crucial ontogenic stages. We developed a survival model that accounts for size-dependent mortality and a growth model that characterizes individual heterogeneity. We integrated vital rate models into two types

SUBMITTER: Needham J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5879618 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature