Supporting National Forest System Planning with Forest Inventory and Analysis Data

2019 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Wurtzebach ◽  
R Justin DeRose ◽  
Renate R Bush ◽  
Sara A Goeking ◽  
Sean Healey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Inventory ◽  
Ecological Integrity ◽  
Analysis Data ◽  
Forest Planning ◽  
National Forest ◽  
Forest Inventory And Analysis ◽  
Monitoring Strategies ◽  
Assessment And Monitoring ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Statistical Sample

Abstract In 2012, the US Forest Service promulgated new regulations for land-management planning that emphasize the importance of scientifically credible assessment and monitoring strategies for adaptive forest planning and the maintenance or restoration of ecological integrity. However, in an era of declining budgets, the implementation of robust assessment and monitoring strategies represents a significant challenge for fulfilling the intent of the new planning rule. In this article, we explore opportunities for using data and products produced by the USDA Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program to support the implementation of the 2012 Planning Rule. FIA maintains a nationally consistent statistical sample of field plots that covers most national forests with hundreds of plots. We suggest that leveraging FIA data and products can generate efficiencies for assessment, planning, and monitoring requirements detailed in the 2012 Planning Rule, and help fulfill the adaptive intent of the new planning rule. However, strong national leadership and investment in regional-level analytical capacity, FIA liaisons, and decision-support tools are essential for systematically realizing the benefits of FIA data for forest planning across the National Forest System.

Using Forest Inventory and Analysis Data to Support National Forest Management: Regional Case Studies

2020 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Coeli M Hoover ◽  
Renate Bush ◽  
Marin Palmer ◽  
Emrys Treasure
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Forest Inventory ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Analysis Data ◽  
National Forest ◽  
Usda Forest Service ◽  
Forest Inventory And Analysis ◽  
Revision Process ◽  
Landscape Scales ◽  
The Many

Abstract Although many forestry practitioners have a general understanding of the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program and the type of data collected, most non-expert users of FIA reports and basic data are unlikely to be familiar with the breadth of information available and the many potential uses of the data. We present case studies from three USDA Forest Service regions to highlight a variety of applications of FIA data, from informing the forest plan revision process to supplying managers with timely information on important forest attributes at the stand and landscape scales. These examples illustrate the utility of FIA data in meeting managers’ information needs, the importance of the linkages between research and management throughout the agency, and the role that the FIA program can play in fostering those collaborations.

scholarly journals Area-Wide Analysis of Hardwood Defoliator Effects on Tree Conditions in the Allegheny Plateau

2004 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall S. Morin ◽  
Andrew M. Liebhold ◽  
Kurt W. Gottschalk
Keyword(s):  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Forest Health ◽  
National Forest ◽  
Forest Land ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Usda Forest Service ◽  
Forest Inventory And Analysis ◽  
Allegheny Plateau ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Crown Dieback

Abstract The effects of defoliation caused by three foliage feeding insects, the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar), the cherry scallopshell moth (Hydria prunivorata), and the elm spanworm (Ennomos subsignarius), on tree mortality and crown conditions were evaluated using data collected from 1984 to 1999 in the Allegheny National Forest located in northwestern Pennsylvania. While previous studies have focused on the effects of defoliation on trees in individual stands, this study differed in that it used exhaustive maps of defoliation and an areawide network of plots to assess these effects. A geographic information system was used to map the coincidence of USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis and Forest Health Monitoring plot locations with defoliation polygons derived from aerial surveys to calculate cumulative years of defoliation for each pest. Over 85% of the Allegheny National Forest land area was defoliated at least once during the 16-year period from 1984 to 1999. Frequency of defoliation by specific defoliator species was closely associated with the dominance of their primary hosts in stands. Frequency of defoliation was often associated with crown dieback and mortality, but these relationships were not detectable in all species. These results suggest that when impacts are averaged over large areas (such as in this study) effects of defoliation are likely to be considerably less severe than when measured in selected stands (as is the approach taken in most previous impact studies).

scholarly journals Bayesian calibration of a carbon balance model PREBAS using data from permanent growth experiments and national forest inventory

2019 ◽  
Vol 440 ◽  
pp. 208-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Minunno ◽  
Mikko Peltoniemi ◽  
Sanna Härkönen ◽  
Tuomo Kalliokoski ◽  
Harri Makinen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Inventory ◽  
Carbon Balance ◽  
National Forest Inventory ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
National Forest ◽  
Bayesian Calibration ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Growth Experiments

scholarly journals Integrating forest inventory and analysis data into a LIDAR-based carbon monitoring system

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristofer D Johnson ◽  
Richard Birdsey ◽  
Andrew O Finley ◽  
Anu Swantaran ◽  
Ralph Dubayah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Monitoring System ◽  
Forest Inventory ◽  
Analysis Data ◽  
Forest Inventory And Analysis

scholarly journals Composite Estimators for Growth Derived from Repeated Plot Measurements of Positively-Asymmetric Interval Lengths

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Roesch
Keyword(s):  
Data Aggregation ◽  
Forest Inventory ◽  
National Forest Inventory ◽  
Statistical Properties ◽  
National Forest ◽  
Forest Inventory And Analysis ◽  
User Expectations ◽  
Standard Set ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Interval Lengths

The statistical properties of candidate methods to adjust for the bias in growth estimates obtained from observations on increasing interval lengths are compared and contrasted against a standard set of estimands. This standard set of estimands is offered here as a solution to a varying set of user expectations that can arise from the jargon surrounding a particular data aggregation procedure developed within the USDA’s Forest Inventory and Analysis Program, specifically the term “average annual” growth. The definition of a standard set of estimands also allows estimators to be defined and the statistical properties of those estimators to be evaluated. The estimators are evaluated in a simulation for their effectiveness in the presence of a simple distribution of positively-asymmetric measurement intervals, such as what might arise subsequent to a reduction in budget being applied to a national forest inventory.

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