INDIVIDUAL TREE DIAMETER GROWTH MODEL FOR Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze IN MIXED OMBROPHYLOUS FOREST

This work aims to model the diameter growth for individual trees of Araucaria angustifolia, present in the Mixed Ombrophylous Forest in the northeast of Rio Grande do Sul. Thus, 251 araucaria individuals located on the permanent plots of the Project PELD - CNPq were remeasured after a period of 8 years. A yield model was built, having as dependent variable the future diameter, using regression and analysis of covariance. As independent variables, the dimensional and social characteristics of the individuals and distance independent competition indices were used. The most correlated variable with the future diameter was the current diameter. The competition indices showed high correlation with the dependent variable, representing the competitive pressure exerted on the tree, but they were not selected in the regression model. Only the current diameter, multiplied by a coefficient, plus a constant value which differed according to the sociological position of the individuals was effective to predict the future diameter. Three variations of the production model were built. The models showed better estimates for emerging individuals of Araucaria angustifolia, however, its use in the individual tree growth prognosis should be cautious due to the magnitude of the errors it presented.