Model Developers

In the 1990s, Professors Joseph Landsberg, from Australia, and Richard Waring, from the USA, developed a model for forest growth that was based on simple plant physiological principles such as access to light, water, and nutrients. Professor Nicholas Coops, then working in Australia, now in Canada, added advanced satellite imagery analysis to the model. The result is a powerful tool for predicting growth and assessing the risks to the world’s forests posed by climate change.

Landsberg, Waring and Coops have allowed researchers and forest owners open access to the model. This has contributed to its rapid dissemination and adoption. 3PG is now one of the world’s most widely used models for assessing forest growth over large areas. Forest owners use it for purposes such as calculating volume, diameter and biomass development in fast-growing tree plantations. It can be applied to species as diverse as eucalyptus and pine, in monocultures and in mixed species stands, across different climates and landscape types from Australia and New Zealand to Europe and North America.

Significant Support for the development and continued support of 3PG has been received from: