Abstract: With the commonly used variable-exponent taper models developed by Kozak (1988), Muhairwe (1999), Lee (2003) and Kozak (2004), we aimed to develop taper functions of diameter outside bark (DOB), heartwood diameter (HD), sapwood width (SW), and bark thickness (BT) based on the data of 2977 discs from 103 sample trees of Pinus koraiensis plantations under different conditions in Mengjiagang Forest Farm, Dongjingcheng and Linkou Forestry Bureau in Heilongjiang Province. We selected the optimal basic model after comparison. By using seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) method in the PROC MODEL of SAS software, we established an additive model system for the taper equations of DOB, HD, SW and BT. By introducing the region as a dummy variable, the models were evaluated by coefficient determination (R_adj²), root mean square error (RMSE), Akaike information criterion (AIC) and Bayesian information criterion (BIC). The results showed that the taper model developed by Kozak (2004) was the optimal one for the DOB, HD, SW and BT. When satisfying the additivity of each component and total amount, the additivity model system got better prediction effect, with a prediction precision of more than 98%. The additive model system with dummy variables improved the prediction ability to varying degrees, especially the prediction precision of HD and SW models. Minor differences existed in DOB and BT among different regions, while enormous differences in HD and SW. The additive model system with dummy variables not only had high prediction accuracy but also satisfied the additive logic of DOB, HD, SW and BT, which provided a basis for accurate estimation of heartwood, sapwood and bark volume of P. koraiensis.

Key words: additive model, taper equation, dummy variable, heartwood and sapwood, bark thickness, Pinus koraiensis plantation