I did a simple experiment with trees: 5 species (`sp`) and two management (`trt`). I assessed the diameter (`diam`) through the time (`month=1:24`) and I'm interesting in the factors interaction effect, I mean if the management is suitable for some species. The [dataset][1] has some limitations since it is not balanced, so in 2 out of 10 factors combinations (`sp*trt`) I have 4 trees (subjects) and for the rest there are 5 trees: sp trt trees 1 A L 5 2 A W 5 3 B L 5 4 B W 5 5 C L 5 6 C W 5 7 P L 4 8 P W 5 9 T L 5 10 T W 4 I fitted the following model: m1 <- lmer(diam ~ trt * sp * month + (1|tree), data = dat1) I'm not sure if I'm doing right, mainly if the model is right... [![enter image description here][2]][2] [1]: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzrHpe_fGynadHlpYS1qcGw4WkU [2]: https://i.sstatic.net/neZSW.png