| Abstract: | A material of 1156 observations was used to develop two Norway spruce (P. abies (L.) Karst.) stand volume functions for western Norway. An additive model initially based on a polynomial of second degree was found to be most suitable. The independent variables were stand basal area, Lorey's mean height, the product of basal area and mean height, and the square of the mean height. In order to roughly reflect the different climatical conditions within western Norway, all municipalities were classified into the categories “inland” and “coast”. The individual observations were assigned the category of the municipality in which they were sited. The type of district was included in the selected additive model by means of a dummy variable approach. Testing showed that two individual regressions should be recommended for prediction purposes in the respective districts. R2 was 0.998 and C.V. was less than 2.5%. The regressions fitted most parts of the material very well, with exception for low densities for inland districts. Testing by means of an independent data set indicated no systematic differences. |
