Above- and be Bow-ground biomass of precompetitive red pine in northern Michigan

In 1984, red pine (Pinusresinosa Ait.) plantations were established at three sites in northern Michigan. From 1985 through 1992, 3083 individual trees from these stands were destructively sampled to determine aboveground biomass. The root systems were excavated on a subset of these trees (975 individuals). There were no significant differences in the relationships between either above- or below-ground biomass and groundline diameter and tree height across the range of biomass (3-6720 g for aboveground biomass and 1-319 g for belowground biomass), basal diameter (0.3-10.1 cm), or height (10-417 cm) of the sampled trees. There were also no significant differences in these relationships among the three sites. Relative height growth (the ratio of total height increment in a year and the total height at the beginning of the growing season) was found to have a very well defined maximum that was a function of total height at the beginning of the growing season. This maximum relative growth rate was used to develop a new height growth index that can be used to identify precompetitive red pine that are approaching their potential height growth in field situations.