Relative maxima of diameter and basal area
This article is part of a larger document. View the larger document here.Abstract
It has often been observed that maximum dbh growth occurs at an earlier age than maximum individual tree basal area growth. This can be deduced from the geometry of the tree stem, by observing that a dbh increment at a given radius will be associated with a larger basal area increment than an equal dbh increment occurring at a shorter radius from the stem center. Thus basal area increment continues to increase after dbh increment has culminated. Nevertheless it is of interest to prove mathematically that the age of maximum basal area growth occurs later than the age of maximum dbh increment for a broad range of continuous functions that could be used to model diameter and basal area growth. This can be done using differential calculus for continuous functions representing diameter and basal area increment.