Using landscape preference models and tree-scale measurements to predict stand quality

Scenic beauty estimation (SBE) models that quantify landscape aesthetics through picture-based questionnaires are complicated to develop. Therefore, precise, simple, and widely applicable models of SBE prediction based on tree and stand measurements must be developed. To investigate the application of tree- and stand-based SBE models to Chinese fir forest management, the relationships between diameter at breast height (DBH) and tree height (H) measurements and tree- (T_SBE) and stand (S_SBE)-based SBE predictions were assessed. T_SBE and S_SBE were strongly influenced by DBH and H measurements according to either a power function or linear function, depending on the variables. When the mean stand DBH was less than 8.4?cm or H was less than 9.8 m, dense canopies resulted in negative S_SBE residuals. In stands with large trees and non-dense canopies, the residuals of S_SBE were positive. We conclude that average H and DBH measurements within a stand can be used to predict S_SBE by extrapolating the tree-based SBE model to form a stand-based SBE model. Therefore, SBE models based on individual tree measurements can provide quantitative guidance for forest landscape quality planning and evaluation.