Resources / Forestry / Height growth
Forestry · Establishment · Growth

Height growth

29 m · 2.1 m/yr

Dominant (top) height by stand age — the average height of the tallest, best-grown trees. Because top height is largely independent of stocking, it is the cleanest early expression of a site’s productive quality.

Worked example · Top height by age · vs district
Site target 29 m K7 · 29 m District · 25 m yr 2 yr 8 yr 10
Top height by age · vs district
The benchmark

On good south-west WA sites blue gum gains up to 2 m of height a year when young, reaching 25–30 m of dominant height by a 10-year rotation.

FWPA ↗
What it signals

Height at age is the standard site-index signal: a stand tracking above the district curve at year 3 will almost always finish with a higher MAI. It is your earliest, cheapest read on whether the crop will hit its yield target.

Data required to calculate
Top height by measured plotmStand age at measurementyr

Silo pulls each of these from the sources the operation already uses, and keeps the figure current automatically.

How to improve it
01

Control competing weeds hard through the first two growing seasons.

02

Address nutrient deficiencies picked up in early foliar sampling.

03

Select the best-performing seed orchard families for the site type.

Questions & answers

What is height growth?

Dominant (top) height by stand age — the average height of the tallest, best-grown trees. Because top height is largely independent of stocking, it is the cleanest early expression of a site’s productive quality.

What data do you need to calculate height growth?

You need: Top height by measured plot (m), Stand age at measurement (yr). Silo pulls each of these from the sources the operation already uses and keeps the figure current automatically.

What is a good height growth benchmark?

On good south-west WA sites blue gum gains up to 2 m of height a year when young, reaching 25–30 m of dominant height by a 10-year rotation.

How do you improve height growth?

Control competing weeds hard through the first two growing seasons. Address nutrient deficiencies picked up in early foliar sampling. Select the best-performing seed orchard families for the site type.

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