Dendrometry

Dendrometry is the branch of forestry that is concerned with the measurement of the various dimensions of trees, such as their diameter, size, shape, age, overall volume, thickness of the bark, etc., as well as the statistical properties of tree stands, including measures of central tendency and dispersion of these quantities, wood density, or yearly growth, for instance.

The most frequent measurements acquired in the field include

These key measurements are used to infer, through allometric relations, other tree properties that may be of greater interest but are harder to measure directly, such as the quantity of commercial wood retrievable, or the amount of carbon sequestered in the plants.

  • Tree height model (module of Field-Map Inventory Analyst) used to model missing tree heights.
    Tree height model (module of Field-Map Inventory Analyst) used to model missing tree heights.
  • Dendrometer of the early 19th century, on display at the Musée des Arts et Métiers.
    Dendrometer of the early 19th century, on display at the Musée des Arts et Métiers.