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Harold Burkhart

Professor

Dr. Harold Burkhart

Dr. Harold Burkhart
319 Cheatham Hall
burkhart@vt.edu
540-231-6952
  • B.S., Oklahoma State University (1965) 
  • M.S., University of Georgia (1967)
  • Ph.D., University of Georgia (1969)

 Modeling forest stand dynamics, growth and yield; applying quantitative analysis techniques to forestry problems.  

  • FREC 5224 Forest Biometry
  • FREC 5494 Natural Resource Research Procedures

Cooperative Research Program in Growth and Yield of Managed Stands of Loblolly Pine (Twenty industrial forestry firms plus Virginia Department of Forestry and USDA Forest Service, 1979-present): The objective of this Cooperative is to develop loblolly pine tree growth and stand development models sufficiently flexible to account for the effects of intensive cultural practices, with output sufficiently detailed to allow for analyses of a full range of utilization options. The Cooperative maintains three large field studies: (1) a set of designed spacing trials, (2) growth plots in cloned plantings, (3) a region-wide set of growth plots in intensively managed plantations, and (4) two pruning experiments and is part of the NSF Center for Advanced Forestry Systems as well as the regional PINEMAP project.

  • Burkhart, H.E, and R.L. Amateis. 2020. Effects of early pruning on ring specific gravity of young loblolly pine trees. Wood and Fiber Sci. 52:139-151.
  • Green, P.C., and H.E. Burkhart. 2020. Plantation loblolly pine seedling counts with unmanned aerial vehicle imagery: A case study. J. Forestry 118:487-500.
  • Green, P.C., H.E. Burkhart, J.W. Coulston, and P.J. Radtke. 2020. A novel application of small area estimation in loblolly pine forest inventory. Forestry 93:444-457.
  • Green, P.C., H.E. Burkhart, J.W. Coulston, P.J. Radtke, and V.A. Thomas. 2020. Auxiliary information resolution effects on small area estimation in plantation forest inventory. Forestry 93:685-693.
  • Scolforo, H.F., J.P. McTague, H.E. Burkhart, J. Roise, C.A. Alvares, and J.L. Stape. 2020. Site index estimation for clonal eucalypt plantations in Brazil: A modeling approach refined by environmental variables. For. Ecol. and Manage. 466:118079.
  • Shahzad, M.K., A. Hussain, H.E. Burkhart, F. Li, and L. Jiang. 2020. Stem taper functions for Betula platphylla in Daxing’an Mountains, northeast China. J. For. Res. 32:529-541.
  • Yang, S., and H.E. Burkhart. 2020. Evaluation of total tree height subsampling strategies for estimating volume in loblolly pine plantations. For. Ecol. and Manage. 461:117878.
  • Yang, S., and H.E. Burkhart. 2020. Robustness of parametric and nonparametric fitting procedures of tree-stem taper with alternate definitions for validation data. J. Forestry 118:576-583.
  • Allen, M.G., and H.E. Burkhart. 2019. Growth-density relationships in loblolly pine plantations. For. Sci. 65:250-264.
  • Green, P.C., S. Yang, and H.E. Burkhart. 2019. Comparison of plot- and stand-level projections of simulated loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) stands. Can. J. For, Res. 49:692-700.
  • Scolforo, H.F., J.P. McTague, H.E. Burkhart, J. Roise, O. Campoe, and J.L. Stape. 2019. Eucalyptus growth and yield system: Linking individual-tree and stand-level growth models in clonal eucalypt plantations in Brazil. For. Ecol. and Manage. 432:1-16.
  • Scolforo, H.F., J.P. McTague, H.E. Burkhart, J. Roise, O. Campoe, and J.L. Stape. 2019. Yield pattern of eucalypt clones across tropical Brazil: An approach to clonal grouping. For. Ecol. and Manage. 432:30-39.
  • Scolforo, H.F., J.P. McTague, H.E. Burkhart, J. Roise, C.A. Alvares, and J.L. Stape. 2019. Modeling whole-stand survival in clonal eucalypt stands in Brazil as a function of water availability. For Ecol. and Manage. 432:1002-1012.
  • Scolforo, H.F., J.P. McTague, H.E. Burkhart, J. Roise, J. McCarter, C.A. Alvares, and J.L. Stape. 2019. Stand-level growth and yield system for clonal eucalypt plantations in Brazil that accounts for water availability. For. Ecol. and Manage. 448:22-33.
  • Scolforo, H.F., J.P. McTague, H.E. Burkhart, J. Roise, R.L. Carneiro, and J.L. Stape. 2019. Generalized stem taper and tree volume equations applied to eucalyptus of varying genetics in Brazil. Can. J. For. Res. 49:447-462.
  • Yang, S., and H.E. Burkhart. 2019. Comparison of volume and stand table estimates with alternate methods for selecting measurement trees in point sampling. Forestry 92:42-51.
  • Bose, A.K., A. Weiskittel, C. Kuehne, R.G Wagner, E. Turnblom, and H.E. Burkhart. 2018. Does commercial thinning improve stand-level growth of the three most commercially important softwood forest types in North America? For. Ecol. and Manage. 409: 683-693.
  • Bose, A.K., A. Weiskittel, C. Kuehne, R.G Wagner, E. Turnblom, and H.E. Burkhart. 2018. Tree-level growth and survival following commercial thinning of four major softwood species in North America. For. Ecol. and Manage. 427: 355-364.
  • Burkhart, H.E., E.B. Brooks, H. Dinon-Aldridge, C.O. Sabatia, N. Gyawali, R.H. Wynne, and V.A. Thomas. 2018. Regional simulations of loblolly pine productivity with CO2 enrichment and changing climate scenarios. For. Sci. 64: 349-357.
  • Yang, S., and H.E. Burkhart. 2018. Application of height-based and diameter-based relative spacing for estimation of stand basal area. For. Sci. 64: 28-32.
  • Arias-Rodil, M., U. Diéguez-Aranda, and H.E. Burkhart. 2017. Effects of measurement error in total tree height and upper-stem diameter on stem volume prediction. For. Sci. 63:250-260.
  • Burkhart, H.E., A.M. Brunner, B.J. Stanton, R.A. Shuren, R.L. Amateis, and J.L. Creighton. 2017. An assessment of potential of hybrid poplar for planting in the Virginia Piedmont. New Forests 48:479-490.
  • Scolforo, H.F., J.R.S. Scolforo, J.L. Stape, J.P. McTague, H.E. Burkhart, J. McCarter, F. Castro Neto, R.A. Loos, and R.C. Sartório. 2017. Incorporating rainfall data to better plan eucalyptus clones deployment in eastern Brazil. For. Ecol. and Manage. 391:145-153.
  • Scolforo, H.F., J.R.S. Scolforo, C.R. Thiersch, M.F. Tiersch, J.P. McTague, H.E. Burkhart, A.C. Ferraz Filho, J.M Mello, and J. Roise. 2017. A new model of tropical tree diameter growth rate and its application to identify fast-growing native tree species.  For. Ecol. and Manage. 400:578-586.
  • Yang, S. and H.E. Burkhart. 2017. Estimation of carrying capacity in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.). For. Ecol. and Manage. 385:167-176.
  • Served as Chairman, Blue Ridge Chapter; Chairman, Virginia Division; Regional Technology Coordinator; Chairman, Biometrics Working Group; Member of various committees, SAF
  • Leader, IUFRO S4.01 Mensuration, Growth and Yield; Deputy Leader, IUFRO Division 4; Deputy Leader S4.11 Statistical Methods, Mathematics and Computers
  • Past Editor of Southern Journal of Applied Forestry and Forest Science
  • International Union of Forestry Research Organizations Scientific Achievement Award
  • J. Shelton Horsley Research Award, Virginia Academy of Science
  • Virginia Tech Alumni Award for Research Excellence
  • Virginia Tech Alumni Award for Excellence in Graduate Advising
  • State Council of Higher Education for Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award
  • Distinguished Service to Forestry Award, Appalachian SAF
  • Barrington Moore Memorial Award, SAF
  • Distinguished Agriculture Alumnus Award, Oklahoma State University
  • Distinguished Statistical Ecologist Award, INTECOL
  • Forest Champion of the year, Forest Landowners Association 2013
  • Virginia Outstanding Scientist 2013
  • Elected a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Society of American Foresters