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Within the study area, the classification algorithm identified 4,441 stands three acres and larger as conifer (Figure 2). The classification was completely successful in identifying conifer stands. All 113 stands visited that were classified as conifer were, in fact, conifer. The 4,441 stands totaled 36,454 acres and represented 0.56 percent of the 6,498,465 acres within the study area.
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Figure 2. Distribution of conifer stands three acres and larger in the 21-county study area. Remote Sensing/GIS White Pine Inventory. |
However, only 40 of the 72 conifer stands visited to evaluate the amount of white pine identified by the algorithm were white pine. Thus, the number of white pine stands three acres or larger within the study area was estimated as 2,469 with a standard error of 31 stands, based on the normal approximation to the binomial probability distribution. (Ott, 1977). The average size of those 40 stands was 9.78 acres (standard error = 1.27 acres).
Combining these estimates, the total white-pine acreage within the study area in stands three acres and larger was estimated to be 24,147 acres, with a 95% probability that the acreage of white pine within the study area was between 17,972 and 30,321 acres.
Table 1 summarizes characteristics of the 41 white-pine stands inventoried. The average stand was 36.7 years old; was moderately well stocked with a basal area per acre of 162.4 square feet and mean dbh of 11.7 inches (Lancaster and Leach, 1978); was growing on a site of above-average productivity with a 35-year site index of 76.3 feet (Doolittle and Vimmerstedt, 1960; Frothingham, 1914); and contained 23,625 board feet of volume per acre (International 1/4-Inch Rule) measured to a 6.0-inch top diameter inside bark. While the ranges of the stand characteristics shown in Table 1 indicate that wide variation existed among the stands in measured parameters, the relatively small standard errors suggest that there was less variation among the stands than the ranges imply.
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Table 1. Characteristics of Average White Pine Stand Sampled Within Study Area. |
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| Parameter | Mean | Range | SE |
| Age (years) | 36.7 | 12 to 55 | 1.4 |
| Dbh (in) | 11.7 | 6 to 26 | 0.1 |
| Basal area (ft2/ac) | 162.4 | 80 to 230 | 5.8 |
| Site index (ft) (base age 35) | 76.3 | 66 to 88 | 1.0 |
| Volume (Int. 1/4 Inch bd.ft./A) | 23,625 | 0 to 46,933 | 1,350 |
The total volume of white pine in the study area was determined by combining the estimated number of acres of white pine in the study area with the estimated average volume per acre. Appropriate confidence bounds were calculated using a pooled standard error (Meyer 1963). Total white-pine volume in the 21-county study area was estimated to be 570,468,623 board feet with a 95% probability that the total volume was between 411,217,295 and 729,719,950 board feet.
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