Abstract

A software package dealing with certain statistical analyses in forest mensuration was developed. The package consists of three modules, viz., SAMPLE, TREEVOL and TREEBIOM. SAMPLE deals with parameter estimation for sampling from finite populations. The module covers a wide arrary of sampling plans commonly used in forestry. The module allows the user to specify the sampling plan used and provides a frame for entering and editing data. The estimates of population parameters like means, total and ratio are made available by the programme with corresponding standard errors. TREEVOL is for developing prediction equations for commercial volume at tree level based on measurements like stem, branches and leaves based on diameter at breast-height (DBH) and height or dbh alone. The programme offers facilities for entering and editing measurements on dry weight and fresh weights of samples, develops estimates of dry weight at tree level, selects the best fitting regression function from a candidate set of functions for predicting biomass and provides a biomass table for the range specified. The package fills in the need for a self contained user-friendly software for executing certain important statistical applications in forest mensuration and is conceived to be useful for a wide array, run under DOS 3.0 and above and require a minimum of 384.KB run time memory