Philfred Anthony N.

Niño BSF-2
FMgt 124: FOREST STATISTICS AND MEASUREMENTS

Exercise No. 1
Construction of Frequency Distribution and
Graphical Presentation of Forest Inventory Data

I. Introduction
A forest inventory or cruise determines the location of timber and estimates its quantity by
species, product potential, size, quality, or other characteristic (UF, 2006). It applies statistics in a sense
of systematic gathering of data, calculations, getting results, and presenting the outputs.

The data we have is a discrete variable. Discrete variables are countable in a finite
amount of time. For example, you can count the change in your pocket (Statisticshowto.com).
Even though tree growth is considered to be a continuous data but in a certain period of time
it is discrete.
Showing the frequency of the data would be more understandable than showing
every results in every individual being surveyed. This applies in forest inventory wherein it
shows the general or the overall status of the forest and the development of the vegetation
of the area.

II. Objectives
The students are expected to:
a. develop a sense of appreciation of actual forest inventory data
b. process and analyze available data
c. present processed data in frequency distribution table and graphs

III. Methods
A. Data
Data (Table 1) was collected from a Tectona grandis plantation. Fifty-five trees were
sampled and diameter and tree heights were measured. For this exercise, only use
diameter data.
B. Tasks
 Construct a Frequency Distribution Table (FDT)
Steps
1. Arrange the data in ascending or descending order.
2. Determine the range (R) of the values.
3. State the desired number of classes or class interval (k).
* For uniformity, use the Sturge’s formula: 𝑘 = 1 + 3.32 (log 𝑛) where n is
the number of observations.
4. Determine the class size or class width (w) by dividing the range by the
number of classes.
𝑅
𝑤=
𝑘
5. Set up the class limits of each class. Consider the lowest observation as the
lowest limit. Add the class size to determine the succeeding lower limits. The
highest observation should be part of the highest class interval.
 6. Tally the scores in the appropriate classes and then add the tallies for each
class in order to obtain the frequency (f).
7. Solve for the class mark (x) of each class. This is obtained by adding the lower
class limit and the upper class limit, then divide by 2.

IV. Discussion
The results show that the more frequent class in the tree with a DBH ranging
from 20-23 or the fourth class data. Looking at the table 3, the data is not normally
distributed because the first class is more frequent than the next. Also, in visual
perspective the graph doesn't a consistent curved bell. The data means that from the 55
Tectona grandis the number of trees ranging a diameter of 20-23cm is the most
represented and from the is the most numerous among the surveyed samples

V. Tables
Table 1. Diameter (in cm) and height (in m) data of Tectona grandis sampled trees
No. DBH H No. DBH H
1 11.4 9.6 29 22.2 17.8
2 11 11.5 30 22.3 17.5
3 12.5 12.1 31 22.4 17.8
4 14 15.1 32 22.8 15.8
5 14.3 11.6 33 22.9 16.1
6 14.5 12.3 34 23 17.6
7 15 15.8 35 23.1 17.1
8 15.5 14.4 36 23.2 14.9
9 16.2 16.3 37 23.9 17.1
10 16.5 14.3 38 24.8 19
11 16.5 15.3 39 25 18.3
12 17 14.3 40 26 17.9
13 17.2 14 41 26.4 19.4
14 17.2 15 42 27.5 17.8
15 17.7 15.8 43 28 19.6
16 18.2 14 44 20.5 15.8
17 18.3 13.6 45 20.5 18.4
18 18.3 16.4 46 7.9 9.8
19 18.3 16.6 47 8.6 9.8
20 20.1 14.7 48 9.1 9.5
21 20.3 17.1 49 10.1 11
22 20.3 17.8 50 31.5 20.1
23 20.6 14.5 51 30.7 19.9
24 20.7 16.2 52 33.6 20.6
25 21.2 16.6 53 8.1 8
26 21.5 17.4 54 9.5 9.2
27 21.7 17.7 55 12 13
28 22 18.3
Table 2. Results of calculations
Lower Upper Limits Classes Class Frequency Cummulative f(x)
Limits Mark Frequency
7.9 11.9 8~11 9.9 8 8 79.2
11.9 15.9 12~15 13.9 7 15 97.3
15.9 19.9 16~19 17.9 11 26 196.9
19.9 23.9 20~23 21.9 19 45 416.1
23.9 27.9 24~27 25.9 6 51 155.4
27.9 31.9 28~31 29.9 3 54 89.7
31.9 35.9 32~35 33.9 1 55 33.9
Total: 55 110 1068.5

Table 3. Frequency Graph

Frequency Table
Series1

19
11
8 7 6
3
1
8~11 12~15 16~19 20~23 24~27 28~31 32~35

VI. Reference(s)

 University of Florida IFAS Extension, Florida Stewardship, Forest Inventory, 2006,

http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu, January 30 2020
 Statistic How To?, Discrete vs Continuous Variable: How to Tell the Difference, 2020,
http://www.statisticshowto.com, January 30 2020