CRANCOD - A Program for the Analysis and Reconstruction of Spatial Forest Structure

A structural group of four trees in Clocaenog plot 6 with a Japanese larch in the centre and two Japanese larch and two Sitka pruce neighbours. Such groups form the basis of NNSS. The visualisation was computed in CRANCOD.

System requirements

As with any Java application CRANCOD can be used on Windows, Linux and Macintosh computers:

• Windows XP, Vista, 7/8
• Mac OS X
• Equivalent Linux version
• Java Runtime Environment (JRE)

The characteristics of the Japanese larch tree in the centre of the structural group of four trees (see left-hand Figure) in Clocaenog plot 6. From CRANCOD.

Installation

1. Download the file Crancod.zip onto your computer and unzip it.
2. Save the file Crancod.jar on your computer's desktop or in a dedicated target folder.
3. If not previously installed download and install the Java Runtime Environment (JRE).
4. Launch the CRANCOD program by double clicking on the file Crancod.jar.

CRANCOD Documentation

• Download the user manual here.
• Check out the (slightly) updated poster presentation of CRANCOD at the annual conference of the British Ecological Society in 2006.

CRANCOD Sample input files

The following data are from my management demonstration plot (MDP) 6 in Clocaenog Forest (North Wales) surveyed in 2004. This is an interesting site where a formerly mono-species Japanese larch plantation has gradually been colonised by Sitka spruce and other species (see the plot map at the top of this page).

• Configuration file Clg6.cfg
• Tree data file Clg6.dat
• Geometry file Clg6.geo
• Species file Clg6.species

CRANCOD Sample output files

These data also refer to MDP 6 in Clocaenog Forest (North Wales) surveyed in 2004.

• Protocol file logging all processes and presenting basic results Clg6_protocol.zip (please unzip)
• File containing all non-spatial results Clg6_NonSpatials_org.out
• File containing all spatial results (NNSS) Clg6_Spatials_org.out
• File with second-order characteristics Clg6_corr_org.out
• File with individual tree results Clg6_tree_org.out

Clg6_protocol.html is an HTML file and can be opened and viewed with any internet browser. All files with the extension *.out are ASCII files and can be opened and viewed in MS Excel.