Edit Mortality Episode Window

This window is reached from the Edit Episodic Events Window by clicking on the "Mortality Episodes" tab and selecting "New" or "Edit".

This window is where you create a new planned mortality episode or edit an existing one. Along the left portion of the window, you enter data about the planned mortality episode. On the map in the center, you select the area of the plot to which to apply your planned mortality episode. If a tree map has been entered, those trees are displayed on the map and the species key is to the right. (For more on tree maps and episodic events, see the Edit Episodic Events Window topic.)

Timestep. Enter the timestep in which you wish the planned mortality episode to occur. You can create more than one planned mortality episode per timestep.

Species applied to. Put a checkbox next to each species to which this planned mortality episode is to apply. If a species is not checked, no trees of that species will be killed. You can kill trees of the same species more than once in a timestep, but if the areas of the two planned mortality episodes overlap, there is no attempt to consolidate them and you may not get the results you expect.

Amount of mortality type. Enter how you intend to specify the amount of trees to kill in each size class to which the planned mortality episode applies. The same amount type applies to all size classes.

• % of density. You intend to specify kill amounts as a percentage of total density, from 0 to 100. The trees killed will be randomly distributed between the minimum and maximum diameters in the size class. For small tree populations, the amount actually killed may not be exactly what was entered.
• Amt. density (#/ha). You intend to specify kill amounts as a number of trees per hectare. SORTIE will calculate the actual number of trees to kill by multiplying this number by the area to which the planned mortality episode is applied. The trees are removed in size order, starting with the tallest in the size class, until the target number has been reached or there are no more trees in that size class.
• % of basal area. You intend to specify kill amounts as a percentage of total basal area, from 0 to 100. SORTIE will add up the basal area in the size class in the cut area and take the percentage in order to figure out how much to kill. SORTIE will work its way down the trees in the disturbed area in size order, killing each one that brings the amount of basal area killed closer to the target amount without going over. If the size class range and the disturbed area are both large, the amount of basal area killed is likely to be very close to the target.
• Amt. basal area (m²/ha). You intend to specify kill amounts as an amount of basal area, in square meters per hectare. SORTIE will calculate the actual amount of basal area to kill by multiplying this number by the area to which the planned mortality episode is applied. SORTIE will work its way down the trees in the disturbed area in size order, killing each one that brings the amount of basal area killed closer to the target amount without going over. If the size class range and the disturbed area are both large, the amount of basal area killed is likely to be very close to the target.

Diameter Range(s) to kill. Enter the size class ranges you are killing. You must enter at least one. For each size class, enter the minimum and maximum DBH, and the amount to kill in that range. The units of amount to kill will depend on what you have entered in "Amount of mortality type". Kill ranges may not overlap.

To specify the plot area to which to apply the planned mortality episode, select the appropriate cells on the map. Cells are each 8 meters by 8 meters. Selected cells will show up in color, and unselected cells will be white. You can click and drag to mark out an area, or click on individual cells. Clicking or dragging on selected (colored) cells causes them to become unselected (white).