Task 8 - Improving existing Portuguese Pinus pinea modelling equations
The new data available from cone collection and height and diameter measurements in the Permanent Sample Plots (Task 4.) and irrigation and fertilization trials (Task 2 and 3) will be used to improve the existing Portuguese Pinus pinea modelling equations (Freire 2009). These equations include:
a) Height growth
b) Diameter increment
c) Cone occurrence
d) Cone weight
The height growth equation a) was developed from a set of measurements from the 65 Permanent Sample Plots, carried out in 2004 and 2005. At that time the increment in diameter was assessed with an increment borer and equation b) was developed. The equations related to cones c) and d) were developed using data from 4 years of cone collections in the same Permanent Sample Plots .These equations will be considerably improved using data from the re-measurement of the same Permanent Sample Plots, which will be carried out by PINEA Project as described in Task 4. Additionally the new data from the irrigated and fertilized trial will be also included.