Accuracy of log volume estimates by density and formulas compared with water displacement

A new approach to determining log cubic volume based on wood density was tested against water displaced volume for 132 loblolly pine logs 4 to 13 inches in scaling diameter. Standard formula volumes (Smalian, Huber, Newton, and others) were also tested against displaced volume and compared to the density method. Results show the density method had poor accuracy (average upward bias = 6.7%), but excellent precision (correlation to displaced volume = 0.999). All formula estimates of volume were more accurate than the density method, but the Huber and Newton formulas performed best (average bias = .3 to -2.0%). Additional testing is needed to isolate errors associated with the density method.

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