Abstract
Two modern methods, centroid sampling and the paracone model, have been shown to be accurate approaches for obtaining the volumes of trees and logs when taper functions are unavailable or local volume estimates are desired. We show that the equation for whole-tree volume using Hossfeld's method, an older method that has all but disappeared from the North American literature, is nearly identical to that for centroid sampling and the paracone model. Hossfeld's method may be slightly simpler to implement in the field, and like the modern methods, it can be used either for whole trees or for unmerchantable tops. In comparison with detailed measurements taken on 186 ponderosa pine trees from the Black Hills of South Dakota, the paracone model was most accurate for whole trees, but Hossfeld's method was slightly more accurate than centroid sampling. Hossfeld's method was substantially more accurate than either modern method for estimating the volume in tops.
