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The purpose of this study was to compare the Weibull distributions estimated for the entire growing stock of a stand and separately for Scots pine ( L.) and Norway spruce ( (L.) H. Karst.) in describing the basal area diameter distributions in mixed stands. The material for this study was obtained by measuring 553 stands located in eastern Finland. The parameters of the Weibull distribution were estimated using the method of maximum likelihood. The models for these parameters were derived using regression analysis. Also, some parameter models from previous studies were compared with the measured distribution. The obtained distributions were compared using the diameter sums of the entire growing stock, diameter sums by tree species and of the sawtimber part of the growing stock. The results showed that far more accurate results were obtained when the distributions were formed using parameter models separately for the different tree species than when using parameter models for the entire growing stock. This was already true when considering the entire growing stock of the stand and especially when the results were examined by tree species. When the models for the entire growing stock were applied by tree species in relation to basal areas, the results obtained were overestimates for Norway spruce and underestimates for Scots pine. The models from earlier studies, where parameter models were estimated separately for tree species from the National Forest Inventory data, showed good fits also in regard to the data of this study.Pinus sylvestrisPicea abies

For biomass forestry in the inland parts of southern and central Finland, the obvious choice of willow species is Salix myrsinifolia. However, selection of clones of indigenous species has not yet been completed and more research and selection is needed. In the Piipsanneva old peatland trial, indigenous species of willow, mostly clones of S. myrsinifolia and S. phylicifolia, were compared in terms of biomass production, coppicing, height growth and diameter distributions. In this trial, the mean annual biomass production was not particularly high; more important results were attained in the ranking of clones. This trial strengthens the hypothesis that, over the long term, the biomass production of S. myrsinifolia is higher than that of S. phylicifolia. It was supposed that behind the highest yield there was a clone with uniform quality, one whose diameter distribution would be narrow and positively skewed. Comparisons of parameters of Weibull functions showed that the distributions of the best clones were wide, indicating that those clones use the whole growth space better than these with narrow distribution.

The study presents two methods of predicting tree dimensions in a Scots pine ( L.) stand if only the location of trees is known. The first method predicts the tree diameter from the spatial location of neighbours. In the second method the diameter distribution of a subarea is estimated from the local stand density. This distribution is then sampled to obtain diameters. In both methods the tree height is predicted with a spatial model on the basis of diameters and locations of trees. The main purpose of the presented models is to generate realistic stands for simulation studies.Pinus sylvestris