VMan

VMan – a weed management decision support system

Vegetation Manager – VMan – has been developed to assist forest managers evaluate the cost-effectiveness of different weed control regimes.

VMan predicts the effects of different user-defined weed control treatments between tree ages of 0 to 5 years. Given the location of the site, together with an estimate of weed-free tree height, diameter growth and weed height at a given time, various broadcast weed control regimes can be compared in terms of how they impact net present value at the end of the rotation.

Results of weed control treatments are reported as:

• Tree and weed height growth over time
• Tree diameter growth over time
• Tree height and diameter distribution with and without treatment
• Time difference (age shift) between treated and untreated regimes for tree diameter, height and volume
• Change in weed cover over time with and without treatment  
• Change in net present value of treated trees compared to untreated trees

The current version of VMan includes:

• Weed competition model
• Competition modifiers that account for weed competition for light and water on tree growth across New Zealand
• National model of tree growth under weed-free conditions
• Herbicide dose response models
• Phytotoxicity effects of herbicide dose on tree growth

Brochure

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