Title:	Predicting the past: a simple reverse stand table projection method
Author(s):	Cao, Quang V.; McCarty, Shanna M.
Date:	2006
Source:	Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-92. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. pp. 301-304
Description:	A stand table gives number of trees in each diameter class. Future stand tables can be predicted from current stand tables using a stand table projection method. In the simplest form of this method, a future stand table can be expressed as the product of a matrix of transitional proportions (based on diameter growth rates) and a vector of the current stand table. There are cases where the reverse information is needed, i.e. predicting the past instead of the future. Examples of these scenarios include estimating timber damages and retroactively establishing the tax basis of timber that was earlier inherited or purchased. This study focused on procedures used to predict past stand tables from current stand tables and past diameter growth rates. The reverse stand table projection method can be an effective approach to predict the past when not much information is available. Its main drawback is that it has low tolerance for poor estimates of past diameter growth rates, which can result in prediction of negative numbers of trees for some diameter classes.
	View and Print this Publication (351 KB)
Publication Notes:	We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information. This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain. Our on-line publications are scanned and captured using Adobe Acrobat. During the capture process some typographical errors may occur. Please contact the SRS Webmaster, srswebmaster@fs.fed.us if you notice any errors which make this publication unuseable.
	Get the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat reader or Acrobat Reader for Windows with Search and Accessibility