Factors influencing the form of Tectona grandis L.F. trees

The form of trees is influenced by several factors, including local conditions, age, and silvicultural activities. This is particularly evident in long-rotation plantations, as exemplified by the case of Tectona grandis trees. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate tree form using variables related to the stand and site to verify their influence on the form of T. grandis trees. The data comes from 19-year-old stands. The artificial form factor (f) was used to evaluate the behavior of the form as a function of the following variables: relative spacing index, quadratic mean diameter, dominant height and age. The Nelder-Mead algorithm was used with discriminant analysis to evaluate the groups formed. The analysis indicated that the highest value of the canonical function coefficients was related to the relative spacing index. When verifying the influence of thinning, before and after its application, for the different classes of f, a greater occurrence of trees in plantations after its application was observed in class I (< 0.45) of f . The relative spacing index showed a greater influence on the stratification of the variable f , which coincided with trees in areas under the influence of thinning.