An Overview of the Forest Inventory and Analysis Program

The FIA program collects strategic (state or multi-county level)

data on the:

Status

Trends

Resource conditions including forest health

Note: This is for ALL forest lands in a consistent fashion across the U.S.

Legislative Perspective

McSweeney-McNary Act of 1928

Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1978

1988 Forest Ecosystem and Atmospheric Pollution Research Act

The Farm Bill (Agricultural Research Extension and Education Reform Act) of 1998

Current FIA MissionCurrent, comprehensive inventories and analyses of all US Forests (i.e. all ownerships).

Annual forest inventories in all States.

National core program that includes additional data beyond the core which are used to address specific regional/local needs.

Standardized plot layout and sampling grid.

QA programs to verify data quality and verify accuracy of our estimates.

Conduct inventories with State and Federal partners. Establish information needs and cooperatively implement inventories.

A New Plot Design…

Comparison Previous Plot Layout with Current Plot Layout

Overlay Plot Layout

102

104

103

105

106

107

108

109

110

1

2

34

Subplots 1- 4Distance between centers 120 feetAzimuth 1-2 =360 degreesAzimuth 1-3 =360 degreesAzimuth 1-4 =360 degreesRadius Subplot – 24.0 feet Microplot – 6.8 feet

Subplot 101-105Subplots 101-103From 66' tosubplot subplotcenter center Azimuth101 102 0o

102 103 0o

103 104 120o

104 105 180o

105 106 180o

106 107 240o

107 108 300o

108 109 0o

109 110 0o

Terminology as a Result of Annual Inventories

Cycle – a sequential number assigned to a set of plots, measured over a particular period of time from which a state estimate using all possible plots is obtained. Relevant for periodic and annual.Subcycle – a number incremented from 1 to n where n is the number of years it takes to complete a Cycle. Relevant for annual only.Panel – FIA plots are assigned to 1 of 5 Panels in order to spatially and temporally distribute plot measurements.

Phase 3Subset of P2,

with additional Variables: soil, ozone, etc

Phase 2Field data collection:

tree species, height, diameter, land use, etc

Phase 1 Forest area estimates ~ based on photo interpretation

*Highest sampling intensity

The Three Phases of the FIA Program

One out of every 16 Forest Inventory Plots is also a Forest Health Plot (Phase 3)

OzoneSoilsDown Woody Material

Crown Condition and HealthLichensUnderstory Vegetation Structure and Diversity

Inventory Relationships

Operational level

State inventories

Local Inventories

for management

FIA National BaseStrategic level

ResolutionSpatial, semantic and temporal.

Invasive Species

A regional measurement

Additional Components of FIA

Timber Product Output Surveys

National Woodland Owner Survey

Tropical Island Survey

Utilization Studies

Comparison of the Past and Present

Previous Current

Timberland Inventory Forestland Inventory

Timber Information Forest and Forest Health Information

Aerial photography w/field visits

Remote Sensing w/field visits

Regional National

Periodic Annual

Internet links:

National database available at: http://www.ncrs2.fs.fed.us/4801/FIADB/

Information specific to Southern states: http://srsfia2.fs.fed.us/

Electronic copy of publications available at: http://www.srs.fs.fed.us/pubs/

National FIA web site: http://fia.fs.fed.us/

Plans for Mississippi

Planning to work cooperatively with MIFI for Phase 2 and Phase 3 data collection in MS.

Current budget projections for FY06 should allow for MS implementation.

The remaining question – Remeasure the old variable radius plot?

Current Grid for Mississippi

Phase 2

Phase 3

Plots under the old grid and the new annual scheme

146Difference between Surveys

727Dropped

5370Total

1994 Survey

5224*Total

581New

4643Re-Measure

Annual Inventory

*348 of these are Phase 3 Plots

Remeasuring old plots and installing new plots

Advantages:Some estimates of growth, removal, and mortalityLinkage with previous plot data although limited

Disadvantages:Crews need to understand 2 plot designsRe-locating plot installed 12-16 years agoMaintain current PDR program and hardware for 5-7 more yearsMaintain current processing system for 5-8 more yearsExplaining growth, removals, and mortality results may be difficult

Only installing the new plots (no remeasurement)

Disadvantages:Possibly no growth, removal, and mortality information for 8 more years

Advantages:Quicker and simpler

Crews only have to establish new plots plus don’t have to relocate old plots

Can use National PDR and data processing programs

Discussions and/or Questions?