Volume Equations and Form and Bark Factors for Coastal Secondary Forests of Santa Catarina State

ABSTRACT Secondary forests prevalent is Santa Catarina State present high potential for sustainable production of timber. However, we lack information to estimate their productivity. This study aimed at generating equations to estimate the stem volume and total volume (including branches), in addition to the form and bark factors, for secondary forests of the Atlantic rainforest in the State. We scaled 187 trees by Smalian method and tested six volumetric models through regression analysis, all with satisfactory results, notably the Schumacher-hall (linearized). The recommended equations to estimate the total volume with and without bark are, respectively, ln(vt) = -10.045586 + 2.349493*ln(dap) + 0.640598*ln(ht) and ln(vt) = -10.206982 + 2.348857*ln(dap) + 0.634736*ln(ht), and to estimate the stem volume with and without bark, respectively, ln(vf) = -9.285656 + 2.100113*ln(dap) + 0.665269*ln(hf) and ln(vf) = -9,504432 + 2.140098*ln(dap) + 0.637631*ln(hf). The estimated form factor is 0.8027, while the bark factor is 0.9301.