Eucalyptus plantations are an important source of raw materials for the forest products industry in Turkey. Despite its economic and ecological value, there is little reference information regarding the growth and yield of eucalyptus plantations. Thus, a segmented compatible stem taper and merchantable tree volume equation system was developed for eucalyptus plantations in the Eastern Mediterranean Region of Turkey. | Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry Turk J Agric For (2015) 39: 851-863 © TÜBİTAK doi: Research Article Compatible merchantable stem volume and taper equations for eucalyptus plantations in the Eastern Mediterranean Region of Turkey 1, 1 2 Ramazan ÖZÇELİK *, Mehmet Fatih GÖÇERİ Deparment of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Forestry, Süleyman Demirel University, East Campus, Isparta, Turkey 2 Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Süleyman Demirel University, East Campus, Isparta, Turkey Received: Accepted/Published Online: Printed: Abstract: Eucalyptus plantations are an important source of raw materials for the forest products industry in Turkey. Despite its economic and ecological value, there is little reference information regarding the growth and yield of eucalyptus plantations. Thus, a segmented compatible stem taper and merchantable tree volume equation system was developed for eucalyptus plantations in the Eastern Mediterranean Region of Turkey. The data used in this study come from 190 Eucalyptus grandis (EG) and 149 Eucalyptus camaldulensis (EC) destructively sampled from even-aged plantations. The equation systems were fitted by the simultaneous estimation of parameters by maximum likelihood with the full information estimation method in order to optimize fitting while simultaneously minimizing the errors in a combined way. The equation systems produced similar results for the two species analyzed in this study. Based on the overall fit statistics, the taper and volume equations showed consistent performance for different sections of stem using relative height classes, different tree height, and diameter classes in estimating stem diameter and merchantable volume. Differences in the taper equations among eucalyptus species were examined and tested using the F-test. The result of the F-test indicated differences in species-specific .
