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Quantification of forest biomass is important for practical forestry and for scientific purposes. It is fundamental to develop generic individual-tree biomass models suitable for large-scale forest biomass estimation. However, compatibility of forest biomass estimates at different scales may become a problem. We developed generic individual-tree biomass models using a mixed-effects modeling approach based on aboveground biomass data of Masson pine (Pinus massonianaLamb.) from nine provinces in southern China. Mixed-effects modeling could provide an effective approach to solving the compatibility of forest biomass estimates at different scales. A simple allometric function requiring diameter at breast height was used as a base model to construct generic individual-tree mixed-effects biomass models. Two factors of tree origin (natural and planted forests) and geographic region (nine provinces or three subregions) were included as random effect factors in the models. The results showed that the mixed-effects model not only provided more accurate estimates, but also possessed good universality compared with the population average model. We, therefore, recommend the mixed-effects model 17 to estimate national and regional-scale biomass for Masson pine in southern China. The mixed-effects modeling approach is versatile and can also be applied to construct generic individual-tree models for other tree species and variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonlinear mixed-effects (NLME) models are flexible enough to handle repeated-measures data from various disciplines. In this article, we propose both maximum-likelihood and restricted maximum-likelihood estimations of NLME models using first-order conditional expansion (FOCE) and the expectation–maximization (EM) algorithm. The FOCE-EM algorithm implemented in the ForStat procedure SNLME is compared with the Lindstrom and Bates (LB) algorithm implemented in both the SAS macro NLINMIX and the S-Plus/R function nlme in terms of computational efficiency and statistical properties. Two realworld data sets an orange tree data set and a Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) data set, and a simulated data set were used for evaluation. FOCE-EM converged for all mixed models derived from the base model in the two realworld cases, while LB did not, especially for the models in which random effects are simultaneously considered in several parameters to account for between-subject variation. However, both algorithms had identical estimated parameters and fit statistics for the converged models. We therefore recommend using FOCE-EM in NLME models, particularly when convergence is a concern in model selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]