Probability density functions and adjustment methods for predicting the diameter distribution of trees in native forests

Abstract

This work aimed to review the literature on probability density functions (pdf) and adjustment methods used to predict the diametric distribution of trees in native forests in Brazil, from 1973 to 2018. Articles published in scientific journals were selected, with open access, which addressed the pdf theme and adjustment methods for predicting the diameter distribution of trees in native forests. The searches were carried out on the Web of Science, Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar and MDPI platforms. The results of the literature review showed that the Weibull, Beta and Gamma probability density functions were the most used in studies of the diametric distribution of trees in native forests in Brazil. Among them, the maximum likelihood adjustment method was the most used, followed by the percentile method. Furthermore, the Beta function, introduced by Pearson, and the Gamma function, with parameters α and β, were addressed. Furthermore, adherence tests, such as Anderson-Darling, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Reynolds, Cramér-von Mises, Chi-square and Shapiro-Wilk, were used to evaluate the goodness of fit of the pdfs.