Data from: Modelling height–diameter relationships in living Araucaria (Araucariaceae) trees to reconstruct ancient araucarian conifer height

To reconstruct a fossil forest in three dimensions, an accurate estimation
of tree height is crucial. However, modelling the height–diameter
relationship of ancient trees is difficult, because the trunks of fossil
trees are usually fragmentary, which makes direct height measurements
impossible. One practical approach for reconstructing ancient tree height
is to use growth models based on the height–diameter relationships of the
nearest living relatives of the fossil taxa. Here we apply 19 growth
models to describe height–diameter relationships of living Araucaria trees
for establishing good growth models for ancient Araucariaceae trees. Data
come from four living populations of the genus Araucaria: Araucaria
bidwillii and A. cunninghamii in Queensland, Australia, and A.
cunninghamii and A. hunsteinii in New Guinea. According to an AIC-based
model selection, a Power model with an exponent of 0.67 (termed here the
modified Mosbrugger model) is the best for each population and for the
entire dataset (157 trees), but normalization constants differ across
populations. To find the best models for the genus Araucaria, 100 random
samples (each population generating 25 random samples) from the entire
dataset are tested. Based on 100 curve fitting results on each model and
multiple performance criteria, three median models are generated from the
medians of their parameter estimates. The median Power model works best
for Araucaria, but the modified Mosbrugger and Curtis models perform
similarly well. In a case study, we revise tree heights of Upper Jurassic
araucariaceous logs in Utah, USA, by applying these three models.