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.

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.

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 A Method for Evaluating Fixed-Radius Plot Size When Sampling Western Juniper Seedlings and Saplings

2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 207-208
Author(s):  
David L. Azuma ◽  
Larry Bednar
Keyword(s):  
Forest Inventory ◽  
Forest Service ◽  
Usda Forest Service ◽  
Forest Inventory And Analysis ◽  
Size Selection ◽  
Western Juniper ◽  
Plot Size ◽  
Fixed Radius ◽  
Selection For

Abstract This note outlines a method for evaluating plot size selection for an inventory of western juniper woodlands in eastern Oregon. The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the USDA Forest Service in Portland, Oregon, used this method to evaluate several plot sizes to measure seedlings and saplings in the 1998 inventory of eastern Oregon. By choosing a 5 m radius plot, the probability of tallying no seedlings or saplings on four subplots is less than 10% for the three sample densities (0.01, 0.02, and 0.03 trees/m2) used. West. J. Appl. For. 17(4):207–208.

scholarly journals Loblolly and Slash Pine Growth and Yield Prediction for Regional Timber Supply Projection Algorithms

1999 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 230-237
Author(s):  
Bruce E. Borders ◽  
Jeffrey B. Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Analysis Data ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Yield Prediction ◽  
Projection Algorithms ◽  
Timber Supply ◽  
Usda Forest Service ◽  
Forest Inventory And Analysis ◽  
Pine Stands ◽  
Growth And Yield Models

Abstract Regional and national timber supply models require standing inventory update procedures. To date, most inventory update procedures used in regional timber supply algorithms have not made use of growth and yield methodology. We present growth and yield models to update standing inventories for natural and planted slash and loblolly pine stands in Georgia. These models were fitted to USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis data obtained from the sixth survey of Georgia and should prove useful in regional timber supply projection algorithms. South. J. Appl. For. 23(4):230-237.

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

Population dynamics of sugar maple through the southern portion of its range: implications for range migration

Botany ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 92 (8) ◽  
pp. 563-569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin L. Hart ◽  
Christopher M. Oswalt ◽  
Craig M. Turberville
Keyword(s):  
Forest Inventory ◽  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Usda Forest Service ◽  
Forest Inventory And Analysis ◽  
Southern Boundary ◽  
Range Boundary ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Biophysical Changes

The range of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) is expected to shift northward in accord with changing climate. However, a pattern of increased sugar maple abundance has been reported from sites throughout the eastern US. The goal of our study was to examine the stability of the sugar maple southern range boundary by analyzing its demography through the southern extent of its distribution. We analyzed changes in sugar maple basal area, relative frequency, relative density, relative importance values, diameter distributions, and the ratio of sapling biomass to total sugar maple biomass at three spatial positions near the southern boundary of the species’ range using forest inventory data from the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis program over a 20 year observation period (1990–2010). We contend that the southern range boundary of sugar maple neither contracted nor expanded during this period. We speculated that biophysical changes caused by succession may provide a short-lived ameliorative barrier to a rapid southern range contraction for some species. The eclipse of some greater climate change threshold may therefore be required to realize significant range movement for mesophytic tree species.

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