Good question- I can't answer it definitively but I suggest 50-75 trees per acre is a good general purpose rule of thumb- the figure would vary greatly depending on species, location, etc. Conifers generally will have more trees per acre in old growth and more volume and they can, generally, withstand higher density. This sort of info exists in forestry textbooks.
Forest researchers have plotted the growth of density, size, growth rates, etc. for all sorts of forest types. Your friend needs to find a good library. In addition to the textbooks, the Journal of Forestry has countless such research papers. I'm sure others here who specialize in studying old growth have better info and can direct you to specific research papers. Joe ----- Original Message ----- From: William Morse To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, October 13, 2008 9:13 AM Subject: [ENTS] old growth density Hello all, I have a friend working on a project for school regarding stand densities/ trees per acre. Does anyone have any information regarding tree spacing or density in unmanaged/old growth forests, particularly broadleaf and mixed forests of the northeast? Is there an old growth characteristic that includes spacing or density? Best regards, Travis Morse --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org You are subscribed to the Google Groups "ENTSTrees" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
