The project will seek to develop a software model that will analyse the relationships between key environmental variables (including the potential impact of climate change) and vegetation growth rate, for different vegetation types. The model will be used to consider the costs and benefits of undertaking vegetation management to different specifications.
Following tree cutting at selected sites the model will be validated against the first year of growth data, which will be determined by laser measurement. The model will subsequently be optimised based on annual growth rates determined over a further three-year period.