Some factors influencing the increment of forests

It is humbling to read the paper by R.N. Aldrich-Blake (1927) because he deduced many truths that we have since confirmed, and he deduced them with the most subtle of arguments. His article could still be used if one were to start building a computer model to capture the physiological processes of tree growth. His ideas alone would provide a suitable framework for modelling and most of the internal and external factors affecting assimilation and respiration would be included. The model would lack a modern understanding of biochemistry, particularly of photosynthesis and the role of nutrients, and Aldrich-Blake did not consider the important problem of allocating assimilated carbon to the growth of different parts of the tree. Our ideas on allocation are now changing and there is emerging evidence for the role of plant signals in allocation which, in turn, affects the increment in timber volume.