A SPACE-TIME SURVIVAL POINT PROCESS FOR A LONGLEAF PINE FOREST IN SOUTHERN GEORGIA

A marked spatial point pattern of trees and their diameters is the res ult of a dynamic biological process that takes place over time as well as space. Such patterns can be modeled as realizations of marked spac e-time survival point processes, where trees are born at some random l ocation and time and then live, grow, and produce offspring in a rando m fashion. A model for a marked space-time survival point process is f it to data from a longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) forest in southern G eorgia. The space-time survival point process is divided into three co mponents: a birth process, a growth process, and a survival process. E ach of the component processes is analyzed individually, from which co nclusions regarding the dynamic ecological processes can be made. By u sing this reductionist approach, questions concerning each individual process can be addressed that might not have been answerable otherwise .