Title:

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

Author(s):

Graham, Russell T.; Asherin, Lance A.; Jain, Theresa B.; Baggett, L. Scott; Battaglia, Michael A.

Publication Year:

2026

How to Cite:

These data were collected using funding from the U.S. Government and can be used without additional permissions or fees. If you use these data in a publication, presentation, or other research product please use the following citation:

Graham, Russell T.; Asherin, Lance A.; Jain, Theresa B.; Baggett, L. Scott; Battaglia, Michael A. 2026. Ponderosa pine growth and yield measurements before and after mountain pine beetle attack on Black Hills Experimental Forest growing stock level plots. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2026-0019

Abstract:

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.

Keywords:

biota; Ecology, Ecosystems, & Environment; Plant ecology; Forest & Plant Health; Inventory, Monitoring, & Analysis; Monitoring; growing stock level; even-aged management; ponderosa pine; Black Hills Experimental Forest; South Dakota; Black Hills National Forest

Related publications:

• Graham, Russell T.; Asherin, Lance A.; Jain, Theresa B.; Baggett, L. Scott; Battaglia, Michael A. 2019. Differing ponderosa pine forest structures, their growth and yield, and mountain pine beetle impacts: Growing stock levels in the Black Hills. General Technical Report. RMRS-GTR-393. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 102 p. https://doi.org/10.2737/RMRS-GTR-393

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