Effects of Stand Density on Top Height Estimation for Ponderosa Pine

Site index, estimated as a function of dominant-tree height and age, is often used as an expression of site quality. This expression is assumed to be effectively independent of stand density. Observation of dominant height at two different ponderosa pine levels-of-growing-stock studies revealed that top height stability with respect to stand density depends on the definition of the dominant height. Dominant height estimates calculated from a fixed number of trees per acre (ranging from 10 to 60 of the tallest trees per acre) were less affected by density than those calculated from a proportion (with the cutoff ranging from 95th to the 70th percentile) of the largest trees in the stand.