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I am looking for a word that groups all measurements done in the trees or forest, like Tree height, Diameter at breast height, Basal Area, Volume, crown diameter, etc.

In Spanish we have the word "Dasometria" for that, and in English I only found the word "dasometry" in research papers written by Spanish or Portuguese speakers (probably influenced by our local definition) like these example and these search results. Although it is found in many scientific papers published in English journals, it does not appear in many English dictionaries (Cambridge,lexico, Collins, McMillan, wordreference).

I will use the word for a Masters research project in an Australian university, so here is my question:

Is it right to use the word "Dasometry" and "Dasometric"?

If not, what alternative word can I use to address the above definition?

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    What is the meaning of the "daso" prefix in Spanish and Portuguese? It's not something with which I am familiar.
    – BoldBen
    Commented Sep 20, 2019 at 6:51
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    The word is not common in English to say the least. But, then again, most forestry terms are not. Asking if any industrial jargon is common is not likely to be a successful endeavor. I'd suggest looking at a text book or course work and see what term they employ most. That is likely the best choice.
    – David M
    Commented Sep 20, 2019 at 15:12
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    The OED doesn't have any words that start with <daso>; it goes straight from dasiberd to dassie.
    – ruakh
    Commented Sep 20, 2019 at 15:45
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    @DavidM Very much due for reopening. The original had sufficient research, but now there are links too.
    – Mitch
    Commented Oct 9, 2019 at 13:22
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    @Mitch Agreed. Much better. But, my comment wasn't a reason for closure. I've voted to reopen.
    – David M
    Commented Oct 9, 2019 at 13:41

2 Answers 2

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Dasometry is probably the anglicized form of your local term, as for English texts the more common expression appears to be

Tree and Forest Measurement

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    I agree that "dasometry" is not a word that even botanists or forest managers who speak English would know the meaning of. I would favor using "Tree and Forest Measurement" accessible to everyone over the more technical term "Dendrometry" which is use by specialists in English but not known to lay people, but that is a personal stylistic preference, and technical terms are sometimes favored by graduate students.
    – ohwilleke
    Commented Sep 20, 2019 at 15:48
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    @ohwilleke - OP is asking for the more frequent alternative, which I really doubt is Dendrometry.
    – user 66974
    Commented Sep 20, 2019 at 15:54
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Dendrometry is the branch of botany that is concerned with the measurement of the various dimensions of trees, such as their diameter, size, shape, age, overall volume, thickness of the bark, etc., as well as the statistical properties of tree stands (including measures of central tendency and dispersion of these quantities), wood density, [and] yearly growth, for instance.

The most frequent measurements acquired in the field include

the Diameter at Breast Height (DBH)

the height of the tree

measures [of] contraction and relaxation of vessels

the horizontal dimension of the canopy

[Wikipedia]

Though this word does not appear in most of the more respected commonly available online dictionaries (it is unsurprisingly in Wiktionary), it is doubtless in OED. Following are a couple of references from academic articles.

Automatic dendrometry: Tree detection, tree height and diameter estimation using terrestrial laser scanning

[CarlosCabo; International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation Volume 69, July 2018_Science Direct]

Avoiding Dendrometry Bias When Trees Lean or Taper

[L. R. Grosenbaugh: Oxford Academic_Forest Science_Volume 26, Issue 2, June 1980]

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    I'd have thought that dendometry bias wasn't the most important thing to avoid if a tree is leaning significantly.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Sep 20, 2019 at 15:43
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    Spanish Wikipedia says that Dasometría includes la dendrometría, la estereometría de la masa, la epidometría and el epidometría. "In other countries, it is usual to consider both dasometry and the Forest Inventory as a single subject of study, also calling it "forest biometrics". The Anglo-Saxon "Forest Mensuration" and the Germans "Holzmesskunde", use the name "Forest measurements" to name these disciplines in their respective languages". Dendrochronology is a reasonably well-known English word, so the dendro- root would be clear to the scientific community.
    – Owain
    Commented Sep 20, 2019 at 18:50
  • I like "forest biometrics".
    – ohwilleke
    Commented Sep 20, 2019 at 20:13
  • Good contribution! I find it confusing because in Spanish "Dasometria" and "Dendrometria" address different metrics (the former: tree or stand scale measurements, the later: internal wood properties), but seems that English is different. Forest biometrics sound easy to understand, but includes ecological measurments on insects, wildlife, topography, and other parameters (fbrinstitute.org/forest-biometrics/what-is-forest-biometrics). Too broad for what I need.
    – AN For
    Commented Sep 22, 2019 at 9:14
  • English (and I'd guess Spanish) often sees the definition of words being broadened or narrowed. (When the original sense also persists, we get potential confusion: a salmon is an animal, but not an animal [according to different legitimate definitions]).
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Sep 22, 2019 at 9:38

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