Ponderosa pine growth and yield measurements before and after mountain pine beetle attack on Black Hills Experimental Forest growing stock level plots

Clifford A. Myers conceived the ponderosa pine growing stock levels (GSL) study in 1961 and completed installation of the study in 1963 in western South Dakota on the Black Hills Experimental Forest (BHEF). The GSL concept was intended to help plan, implement, and illustrate tree thinning strategies in even-aged stands. A GSL is the suggested tree density (i.e., trees and basal area per acre) based on diameter at breast height (DBH) that can be tended to produce a desired basal area per acre (e.g., 80, 100, 120 square feet) when the mean DBH is 10 inches. This study includes a total of 42 plots. There were six plots thinned to represent each GSL of 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 and six other plots identified as controlled. Plots were measured approximately every five years from 1963 through 2010 and field measurements included data such as tree diameter, height, and crown length. Unfortunately, by 2014, mountain pine beetles killed trees in all of the plots and ended the study. This data publication includes the tabular field measurements and plot locations, as well as maps and plot photographs. A Microsoft Access database file that can be used with the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) to obtain growth summaries and estimates is also provided.
The purpose for the GSL study was to help plan, implement, and illustrate tree thinning strategies in even-aged stands of Ponderosa Pine.
For more information about this study and these data, see Graham et al. (2019).