Imputing missing height measures using a mixed-effects modeling strategy

This paper proposes a method whereby height-diameter regression from an inventory can be incorporated into a height imputation algorithm. Point-level subsampling is often employed in forest inventory for efficiency. Some trees will be measured for diameter and species, while others will be measured for height and 10-year increment. Predictions of these missing measures would be useful for estimating volume and growth, respectively, so they are often imputed. We present and compare three imputation strategies: using a published model, using a localized version of a published model, and using best linear unbiased predictions from a mixed-effects model. The bases of our comparison are four-fold: minimum fitted root mean squared error and minimum predicted root mean squared error under a 2000-fold cross-validation for tree-level height and volume imputations. In each case the mixed-effects model proved superior. This result implies that substantial environmental variation existed in the height-diameter relationship for our data and that its representation in the model by means of random effects was profitable.