Abstract
THE vegetation on a tract changes as a field or felled forest becomes a forest again, and a quantitative statement of the changes is needed for comparing one period of changes with another and for logical extrapolation to the equilibrium or steady state. Enumeration of the stems in four mixed hardwood forests during 40 yr has enabled us to test “transition probabilities” as a means of stating, analysing and making use of the observed changes.
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References
Feller, W., An Introduction to Probability Theory and its Application, 1 (Wiley, New York, 1957).
Hicock, H. W., Morgan, M. F., Lutz, H. J., Bull, H., and Lunt, H. A., Conn. Agric. Exp. Sta. Bull., 330 (1931).
Olson, A. R., Conn. Agric. Sta. Bull., 669 (1965).
Stephens, G. R., and Waggoner, P. E., Conn. Agric. Sta. Bull., 707 (in the press).
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WAGGONER, P., STEPHENS, G. Transition Probabilities for a Forest. Nature 225, 1160–1161 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/2251160a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2251160a0
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