Ralph Amateis

Growth and yield modeling, mathematical and statistical techniques applied to forestry problems, computer applications.    

Assist in FOR 5224 Forest Biometry 

• Forest Modeling Research Cooperative (Twenty-one forestry firms in the U.S. and South America, 1979-present): The Forest Modeling Research Cooperative (FMRC) is an outgrowth of the Loblolly Pine Growth and Yield Research Cooperative that was founded at Virginia Tech in 1979 for the purpose of developing growth and yield estimates for intensively managed loblolly pine plantations. The current name reflects a broad interest in and an expanded scope of modeling work that includes diverse species, production objectives, and regions. Although loblolly pine remains a primary research thrust, the FMRC is addressing an expanded array of growth and yield modeling projects both in the U.S. and South America.
• Methodology for Modeling Forest Yields and Stand Structural Patterns (McIntire-Stennis Project): The overall objective of this project is to develop a forest growth and yield modeling system that can account for the effects of intensive management practices. Specifically, this project focuses on modeling the effects of selected silvicultural practices, quantifying wood quality in thinned and unthinned loblolly pine stands, and applying current computing technology to implement the growth and yield models developed by this research.  

• Amateis, R.L. and H.E. Burkhart.2012. Rotation-age results from a loblolly pine spacing trial. South. J. Appl. For. 36:11-11.
• Amateis, R.L. and H.E. Burkhart.2011. Growth of young loblolly pine trees following pruning. For. Ecol. Manag. 262:2338-2343.
• Amateis, R.L., H.E. Burkhart and C.A. Carlson. 2009. Does row orientation affect the growth of loblolly pine plantations. South. J. Appl. For. 33 77-80.
• Amateis, R.L. S.P. Prisley, H.E. Burkhart and J. Liu. 2006. The effect of physiographic region and geographic locale on predicting dominant height and basal area of loblolly pine plantations. South. J. Appl. For. 30(3) 147-153.
• Amateis, R.L., S.P. Prisley, H.E. Burkhart and J. Liu. 2006. The effect of physiographic region and geographic locale on predicting the dominant height and basal area of loblolly pine plantations. South. J. Appl. For. 30(3) 147-153.
• Amateis, R.L. and H.E. Burkhart. 2005. The influence of thinning on the proportion of peeler, sawtimber, and pulpwood trees in loblolly pine plantations. South. J. Appl. For. 29(3) 158-162.
• Choi, J., H.E. Burkhart and R.L. Amateis. 2008. Modeling trends in stem quality characteristics of loblolly pine trees in unthinned plantations. Can. J. For. Res. 38:1446-457.
• Dieguez-Aranda, U., H. E. Burkhart and R.L. Amateis. 2006. Dominant height growth of unthinned loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations in the United States. For. Sci. 52:262-272.
• Green, E.J., W.E. Strawderman, R.L. Amateis and G.A. Reams. 2005. Improved estimation for multiple means with heterogeneous variances. For. Sci. 51(1): 1-6.
• Radtke, P.J., R. L. Amateis, S. P. Prisley, C. A. Copenheaver, D. C. Chojnacky, J. R. Pittman and H. E. Burkhart. 2009. Modeling production and decay of coarse woody debris in loblolly pine. For. Ecol. and Manage. 257:790-799.
• Russell, M.B., Burkhart, H.E., and Amateis, R.L. 2009. Biomass partitioning in a miniature-scale loblolly pine spacing trial. Can. J. For. Res. 39:320–329.
• Sharma, M., H.E. Burkhart and R.L. Amateis. 2007. Scaling taper relationships from miniature scale to operational scale stands of loblolly pine. For. Sci. 53(5):611-617.
• Sharma, M., M. Smith, H.E. Burkhart and R.L. Amateis. 2006. Modeling the impact of thinning on height development of dominant and codominant loblolly pine trees. Ann. For. Sci. 63:349-354.
• Strub, M.R. and R.L. Amateis. 2008. Isometric and allometric relationships between large and small-scale tree spacing studies. Nat. Res. Model. 21:205-224.

Member, Xi Sigma Pi, IUFRO