FOLIAGE BIOMASS DISTRIBUTION OF LOBLOLLY-PINE AS AFFECTED BY TREE DOMINANCE, CROWN SIRE, AND STAND CHARACTERISTICS

Horizontal and vertical distributions of foliage biomass of loblolly p ine (Pinus taeda L.) were analyzed for 30 trees in a plantation that h ad developed 12 years after several site-preparation treatments in the Georgia Piedmont, U.S.A. Regression analyses indicated that foliage b iomass of individual branches increased with branch diameter and with branch relative height. Weibull models were used to characterize folia ge biomass distributions and analyses revealed that branch foliage bio mass distribution varied with branch-level, tree-level, and stand-leve l variables. Results indicate that the proportion of foliage biomass o ccurring within the inner crown increased with branch diameter and rel ative height. For trees of greater dominance, branch, foliage biomass was more evenly distributed across the branch length. With increasing crown ratio of a tree, branch foliage biomass shifted from the inner t o the outer crown. For trees of greater dominance, the vertical distri bution of crown foliage biomass was more even, whereas less dominant t rees shifted their foliage to the top of the crown. For trees of simil ar dominance, crown foliage tended to shift upward as stand leaf area index increased.