2.3. Model
To quantify the effects of climate and management treatment
on forest growth and live tree carbon stocks we used a modified
version of the Western Sierra Variant of the Forest Vegetation Simulator
(Keyser, 2008). The Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) is a
distance-independent, growth-and-yield model that can simulate
a wide range of silvicultural treatments for most major forest tree
species (Crookston and Dixon, 2005). The modified Western Sierra
Variant of FVS (FVS-WS-CLIM) developed by Robards (2009) uses
climate-sensitive, species-specific growth models and downscaled
monthly climate data to model tree growth as a function of climate
and management. This climate-sensitive model was developed
using permanent plot and tree core data from 42,459 trees from
1378 plots on private and public lands across northern California,
collected between 1958 and 1998, to calculate annual diameter