Effects of Insect Defoliation on Regional Carbon Dynamics of Forests

Research Issue

On an annual basis, insects severely defoliate more than 20 million acres of forested land in the conterminous United States, affecting a larger area and incurring higher economic costs than any other disturbance.  However, the long-term costs and ecosystem consequences of insect outbreaks on forest health and productivity are difficult to quantify at the regional scale because of the variety of pests involved, differences in forest types affected, and varying spatial scale and intensity of the impacts.  In particular, the effect of insect activity on carbon cycling and sequestration at the annual and decadal scale is poorly characterized.   

Our Research

We propose the development of a multi-scale approach to monitor defoliation and its impacts on forest carbon cycling using MODIS, Landsat (or similar), and high-resolution imagery.  Our overall objective is to quantify productivity and carbon sequestration effects of insect activity in two representative regions of North America (Mid-Atlantic Highlands and Upper Midwest/adjacent Canada) at the scale of MODIS products.  Our analyses will provide estimates of defoliation extent and intensity, as measured through seasonal losses in leaf biomass and changes to forest productivity derived from Terra MODIS imagery.  The research is premised on the identification of characteristic trends in forest phenology associated with defoliation that can be applied across years to map defoliated areas and resulting declines in forest productivity.  Remotely sensed estimates of reduced forest production will then be used to drive LANDIS-II, a spatially explicit forest simulator capable of modeling insect impacts on forest biomass and successional dynamics.

Expected Outcomes

Our research will reduce the uncertainties present in assessing forest carbon sequestration under scenarios of insect perturbations and related feedbacks (e.g., harvesting and fire).  This will facilitate more accurate carbon accounting at the regional and potentially broader scales.  Through the use of simulation models, we will address potential future impacts under different forest management scenarios and differing assumptions about the spread and prevalence of damaging pests.  Through the use of MODIS, we propose a monitoring and measurement system that can potentially be adapted for temperate and northern forests worldwide, and will provide a tool to facilitate both forest management and policy decisions.

Research Results

McNeil, BE, de Beurs KM, Eshleman KN, Foster JR, Townsend PA. 2007. Maintenance of ecosystem nitrogen limitation by ephemeral forest disturbance: An assessment using MODIS, Hyperion, and Landsat ETM+ Geophysical Research Letters 34: L19406.

Research Participants 

Principal Investigators

• Philip A. Townsend, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin - Madison
• Brian R. Sturtevant, US Forest Service- Northern Research Station Research Ecologist
• David J. Mladenoff, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Research Partner

• Robert Scheller, Department of Environmental Sciences and Management, Portland State University 

For further details log on website :
https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/disturbance/forest_health/carbon_dynamics_insect_defoliation/

The Spruce-Peatland Response Under Climate and Environmental Change (SPRUCE) Experiment

Research Issue

Wetlands, especially organic rich peatlands, have historically been massive sinks for carbon but climate change may be changing the source/sink relationship.  If northern peatlands become carbon sources (or even lesser sinks) the possible feedbacks to the atmosphere could have global implications on carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.

Our Research

Through collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Lab, a large experiment is installed to test the effects of increased soil and air temperature and elevated carbon dioxide levels on northern peatland ecosystems.  The experiment provides a platform for testing mechanisms controlling vulnerability of wetland ecosystems to important climate change variables. The Forest Service’s Marcell Experimental Forest in Northern Minnesota is hosting the Spruce and Peatland Under Climatic and Environmental Change (SPRUCE) experiment because of its rich history of research on peatlands and long-term hydrological, climatological and chemistry data bases.  The $50 million experiment is funded by the Department of Energy and is projected to run for 10 years. The SPRUCE infrastructure consists of 10 large (40 ft dia., 30 ft tall) open-topped, controlled-environment enclosures. The atmosphere and soil (peat) in the enclosures are maintained at 5 different temperatures (no change, +4, +8, +12, and +16° F) relative to temperatures measured outside the enclosures and carbon dioxide will be approximately doubled in one-half of the chambers throughout the 10 year period of the experiment. Heating of the soil began in June 2014, atmospheric heating began in July, 2015 and carbon dioxide additions are planned to begin in June 2016.

Key science questions being investigated include the following:

• How vulnerable are peatland ecosystems and their component organisms to atmospheric and climate change?
• To what degree will changes in plant physiology under elevated CO2 impact a species’ sensitivity to climate or competitive capacity within the community?
• Will full belowground warming release unexpected amounts of greenhouse gases and solutes from high-C-content northern forests?
• What are the critical air and soil temperature response functions for ecosystem processes and their constituent organisms?
• Will ecosystem services (e.g. biogeochemical, hydrological, or societal) be compromised or enhanced by atmospheric and climate change?

Expected Outcomes

The experiment promises to provide important data on ecosystem response to climate and atmospheric change that will feed into both ecosystem and global climate models that will better allow us to predict future climate. Better predictions will assist policy makers and the public to make more informed decisions related to mitigation and adaptation to climate change. 

Research Results

We conducted numerous studies to assess peatland vegetation, soil, microbial communities, chemistry, hydrology, gas fluxes and a number of other parameters to characterize the peatland community prior to manipulation.  See links to publications and presentations that have resulted from pre-manipulation studies.  Results from studies that have assessed parameters affected by soil and atmospheric warming are just beginning to come out.
For a list of related publications: http://mnspruce.ornl.gov/content/project-publications
For a list of SPRUCE related presentations see: http://mnspruce.ornl.gov/content/presentations-and-posters

Research Participants 

• Randy Kolka, Research Soil Scientist, USFS Northern Research Station
• Stephen Sebestyen, Research Hydrologist, USFS Northern Research Station
• Brian Palik, Research Ecologist, USFS Northern Research Station

Research Partners

• Oak Ridge National Laboratory SPRUCE participant list

Last Modified:

December 6, 2015

For further details log on website :
https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/disturbance/climate_change/spruce/

Large-scale forest composition influences northern goshawk nesting in Wisconsin

Author

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• Donner, Deahn M.
• Anderson, Dean
• Eklund, Daniel
• St.Pierre, Matthew.

Year Published

2013

Source

Journal of Wildlife Management 77(3): 495-504.

Abstract

The northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis atricapillus) is a woodland raptor that uses a variety of forest types for nesting across its breeding range, but strongly depends on older forests with large trees and open understories. Goshawks may select nesting locations by maximizing the convergence of nesting and foraging habitats. Insights into goshawk responses to heterogeneous landscapes can be gained by examining the location of active nest sites through time and at multiple spatial scales. We examined the landscape-scale forest conditions that influenced the probability of active goshawk nests in the United States Forest Service, Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest (CNNF) in northern Wisconsin. We used goshawk nest survey and monitoring data from 1997 to 2006 to determine the probability of an active nest site over time in relation to forest composition and road density at 3 scales (200-m, 500-m, and 1,000-m radii). Goshawk nests were located primarily in upland hardwood (64%), conifer (23%), and older aspen-birch (=26 yrs old; 11%) habitat cover types. We used Bayesian temporal autoregressive models of nest locations across multiple spatial scales to analyze these data. The probability of active goshawk nest occurrence increased with increasing conifer cover (1,000 m) and decreased with increasing cover of older aspen-birch and density of primary roads (500 m). In addition, lesser proportions of older aspen-birch at intermediate scales around goshawk nests had a stronger effect on the probability of a nest being active than conifer and primary roads. Thus, the ratio of conifer cover (within 1,000 m) to older aspen-birch cover (within 500 m) in landscapes surrounding nest sites was the key driver in predicting the probability of an active nest site. This finding can be used by forest managers to help sustain the active status of a goshawk nesting area through time (i.e., annually), and foster goshawk nesting activity in areas where active nesting is not currently occurring.

Keywords

• Accipiter gentilis atricapillus
• Bayesian inference
• Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest
• nesting habitat
• northern goshawk
• spatial scales
• Wisconsin

Citation

Donner, Deahn M.; Anderson, Dean; Eklund, Daniel; St.Pierre, Matthew. 2013. Large-scale forest composition influences northern goshawk nesting in Wisconsin. Journal of Wildlife Management 77(3): 495-504.

Last updated on: April 19, 2013

For further details log on website :
https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/43292

Effects of forest composition on Northern Goshawk nest occurrence and productivity

Research Issue

The Northern Goshawk is a forest raptor found at low densities throughout northern hardwood forests of the Great Lakes region, and is a species of management concern for the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest (CNNF), Wisconsin, and Hiawatha National Forests, Michigan.  The species has a circumboreal distribution and appears to be quite flexible in its nesting requirements and prey base, which limits the applicability of literature on nesting and foraging requirements from outside of the Great Lakes region.  Therefore, there is a need for local information on these aspects of Northern Goshawk biology to inform land managers of the most effective means to conserve the species.  In addition, it remains unclear what effect timber harvesting, which influences forest composition, has on goshawks within national forests.  

Our Research

Goshawks are associated with mature forest with large trees and open understories, but they may select nesting locations as close as possible to foraging habitats.  We examined how landscape-scale forest composition and road density at several different distance from nest sites and random locations throughout the CNNF influenced goshawk nesting presence.  The CNNF applies a 30 acre no-cut buffer surrounding nests and a second buffer extending another 330 ft in which only uneven-aged timber management is permitted.  Using 10 years of goshawk monitoring data, we are evaluating how forest type composition as a result of management practices within 3 zones of influence (e.g., 200, 500, and 1000 m) may help explain the occupancy of goshawk nests.  Current efforts are using the same approach on goshawk nest survey data on the HNF to compare across landscapes.

Research Results

Nest survey and monitoring data from 1997-2006 on the CNNF indicate more conifer cover and less aspen-birch cover and fewer primary roads in the surrounding nests.  The key driver of goshawk nest occurrence was the ratio of conifer cover (1000 m) to aspen-birch (500 m) cover surrounding a potential nest site.  These results are useful in sustaining populations throughout the forest and helping managers recognize important factors in goshawk nest occurrence. 

Donner, Deahn M.; Anderson, Dean; Eklund, Daniel; St.Pierre, Matthew. 2013. Large-scale forest composition influences northern goshawk nesting in Wisconsin. Journal of Wildlife Management 77(3): 495-504.

Research Participants 

Principal Investigator

• Deahn M. Donner, US Forest Service, Northern Research Station - Landscape Ecologist

Research Partners

• Dean Anderson, Wildlife Ecology and Epidemiology, Landcare Research, New Zealand
• Matthew St. Pierre, US Forest Service – Wildlife Biologist, Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Rhinelander, WI
• Daniel Eklund, US Forest Service – Forest Biologist, Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Park Falls, WI
• Steve Sjogren, US Forest Service – Wildlife Biologist, Hiawatha National Forest, St. Ignace, MI 

Last Modified: December 9, 2016

For further details log on website :
https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/sustaining_forests/conserve_enhance/wildlife_fish/goshawk/

Climate, Fire, and Carbon Cycle Sciences

Climate, Fire, and Carbon Cycle Sciences

Research Work Unit NRS-06

The Climate, Fire and Carbon Cycle Sciences staff develops a sound scientific basis and appropriate tools for making local to international resource management, human health/safety, and policy decisions in response to climate change, fire, air pollution, and other threats to people, forests, and watersheds. By connecting climate change and fire research to societal values, we foster innovative management solutions to sustain forests and forest-based values, and improve our quality of life. 

Science focus areas

• Carbon, Water, and Energy Exchange
• Climate and Air Pollution Impacts
• Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation
• Effects of Land Management on Climate
• Fire, Fuel, and Atmosphere Interactions
• Soil Processes and Environmental Change

Research Facilities

• Silas Little Experimental Forest; New Jersey 
• Howland Research Forest; Maine 
• Long-term Ecological Research Site; Baltimore, Maryland 
• High-performance supercomputing laboratory; East Lansing, Michigan 
• Rhizotron experimental facility; Houghton, Michigan 
• Mesocosm experimental facility; Houghton, Michigan 

Key associated programs

• USDA Regional Climate Hubs for Risk Adaptation and Mitigation to Climate Change
  • Northeast Hub
  • Northern Forests Sub Hub
• Northern Global Change Research
• Eastern Area Modeling Consortium
• North American Carbon Program
• Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science

Last Modified: 09/28/2010

For further details log on website :
https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/units/climate/

Chequamegon Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (CHEAS)

Research Issue We are collaborating with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania State University, Carnegie Institute, and other participants in the Chequamegon Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (ChEAS).  The ChEAS is focused on understanding the processes controlling forest-atmosphere exchange of carbon dioxide, including carbon sequestration and ecosystem respiration, and the response of these processes to climate change and multiple environmental stresses. Our Research Our goal is to understand the dynamics of forest productivity in terms of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) for carbon dioxide (CO2) and create the knowledge base for CO2 fluxes in various forest types.  The ChEAS consists of a cluster of eddy covariance towers for continuous monitoring of energy, water vapor, and CO2exchange between forest ecosystems and the atmosphere.  Towers are located at various study sites in northern Wisconsin on the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, where flux measurements are obtained at stand-level and landscape  spatial scales. These towers are a part of the network of sites for studying energy, water, and carbon fluxes at the local, continental (AmeriFlux), and global (FluxNet) scales.   Our research unit participated in the NASA funded project, ‘Testing the Flux Tower Upscaling Hypothesis at a Regional Scale in a Complex Landscape’.  In 2005 to 2007, we deployed two roving flux sensors to include unrepresented ecosystems, and add to the three permanent tower sites, namely, mature northern hardwoods, old-growth mixed forest, and alder-willow wetland.  The four study sites for the roving eddy-covariance sensors included two recently harvested forest stands regenerating into 1) an aspen-dominated ecosystem, 2) a mixed aspen-red maple stand and two wetlands, 3) a sedge-grass-shrub fen, and 4) an ericaceous bog. These flux tower measurements in combination with biometric data and carbon stocks in dead, standing, and live biomass and soil carbon are integrated into the multi-tier studies of the North American Carbon Program (NACP).  Flux tower data are also used to update the biogeochemical model, Biome-BGC, which we utilize for regional upscaling of carbon fluxes.  Furthermore, we recently deployed an eddy-covariance tower (~ 15 m) in a 10-year old aspen stand, an ecosystem that has been unrepresented in the ChEAS stand-level measurements.   Expected Outcomes Carbon, water, and energy fluxes at half-hourly, daily, monthly, and annual temporal scales and spatial scales of flux tower footprint, landscape and region.. Productivity and respiration maps of carbon fluxes according to forest types and age classes. Landscape and regional upscaling on the impacts of elevated CO2 and O3 on carbon, water, and energy fluxes in aspen forests. Testing the flux tower upscaling hypothesis in a complex landscape in northern Wisconsin. Modeling complex ecosystems in support of the NACP Mid-Continent Intensive. Upscaling carbon fluxes from stand-level towers to the footprint of a very tall tower in a heterogeneous landscape. Research Results Carbon fluxes obtained from the very tall landscape-level tower (400m, WLEF near Park Falls, WI) indicate that the landscape is a weak net source of CO2, yet stand-level towers in individual ecosystems within the landscape are net CO2 sinks. Fluxes measured from this tower will be used to link and upscale the results from the Aspen FACE experiment, where scientists are studying the effects of anticipated climate change (elevated CO2 and O3) on northern forest ecosystems.  Sulman, Benjamin N.; Desai, Ankur R.; Mackay, D. S.; Samanta, S.; Cook, B. D.; Saliendra, N. 2008. Interactions of carbon and water cycles in north temperate wetlands: Modeling and observing the impact of a declining water table trend on regional biogeochemistry Research Participants Nick Saliendra, Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore Co., Maryland (formerly U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Research Plant Physiologist) Randy Kolka, U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Research Soil Scientist Ron Teclaw, U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Research Biologist Emeritus Ankur Desai, University of Wisconsin – Madison Ken Davis, Pennsylvania State University Faith Ann Heinsch, University of Montana Paul Bolstad, University of Minnesota – St. Paul

For further details log on website :
https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/clean_air_water/monitoring_carbon/cheas/

Fire and Fuels Research at the Silas Little Experimental Forest

Research Issue

The Silas Little Experimental Forest was reinstated using National Fire Plan funding in 2003 to conduct multi-disciplinary fire and atmospheric science research to provide fire and forest managers with better tools for predicting fire danger, fire risk, air quality, and ecosystem functioning under changing environmental conditions.  

Our Research

Current research efforts at the Silas Little Experimental Forest are strongly aligned with the Northern Research Station  Climate, Fire and Carbon Cycle Sciencesproblem areas, Wildland Fire and Fuels Research and Development Core Fire Science portfolio, and goals of the National Fire Plan.  Specific research projects include:

Improving the monitoring and delivery of fire weather and fire danger information to State and Federal fire managers in the Pine Barrens.   

We installed and operate a network of ten fire weather towers, with data provided to users over the internet and at New Jersey Forest Fire Service Division B Headquarters.  Towers are located in the four major upland forest types (Oak/Pine, Pine/Oak, Pine/Scrub Oak, and Pine Plains), three of which are high fire risk areas.  Fire weather and fuel moisture data are transferred via wireless modems to the New Jersey State Climatologist Office, for posting on their website (http://climate.rutgers.edu/stateclim; fast-loading fire weather page at http://climate.rutgers.edu-usfs-monitoring.php), making this information accessible to fire managers and other users in real-time.  A SODAR (Sonic Detection and Ranging) system, which measures 15-minute average windspeed and direction profiles up to 700 m height, also has been operated on a walk-up tower at the Forest since July 2004.  These data are used by the Eastern Area Modeling Consortium (EAMC) in East Lansing, MI to test and develop MM5 mesoscale model predictions of fire weather indices (down to 1 km resolution for S. New Jersey).  Measurements are currently being integrated with fire weather predictions made by EAMC to produce a regional graphical fire danger rating system.  

Use of LIDAR systems and field measurements to characterize forest structure and fuel loading across the Pine Barrens.  

Extensive forest structure and fuel loading measurements made using LIDAR (light detection and ranging) systems and forest census techniques in the Pine Barrens provide fire managers with accurate information on hazardous fuel loads (Skowronski et al. 2007, Clark et al. in press).  Maps produced from these data allow accurate estimates of where fires have a strong probability of transitioning to the canopy, where they are much more difficult and expensive to suppress. Collaborative research with Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team (FERA) has led to the publication of a fuel photoseries for Pitch Pine dominated forests in the NE US (Wright et al. 2007).    Collectively, these research efforts assist fire managers quantify hazardous fuel loading and fuel characteristics at the landscape scale.  

Quantifying fuel consumption during hazardous fuel reduction treatments.

We use pre- and post prescribed fire measurements to measure the amount of understory vegetation and forest floor consumed during prescribed fires in stands throughout the Pine Barrens (Clark, et al. in press).  By tracking where prescribed fires have been conducted over the last twenty years, LIDAR and plot measurements are can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of hazardous fuel reduction treatments.  When integrated with information from fire weather towers and measurements of boundary layer dynamics (with the SODAR), these data are used to calculate smoke emission and dispersion.  We are also collecting data to use with BEHAVE to calculate emissions from prescribed fire treatments.

Quantifying the trade-offs between hazardous fuels management and carbon sequestration by forests.  

Three of the fire weather towers also measure eddy fluxes of energy, water and carbon dioxide, and we make extensive forest productivity measurements at each site.  In conjunction with fuel reduction measurements, this network can be used to interpret hazardous fuel treatments in the context of regional forest carbon dynamics.  Hazardous fuel reduction treatments are now mandated by the Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003, and our research helps clarify how management options result in tradeoffs between fuel reduction treatments, wildfire risk, and long-term C sequestration by these forests.  

Expected Impact

• Improved monitoring and delivery of fire weather and fire danger information to State and Federal wildland fire managers in the Pine Barrens.   
• Validated predictive models for fire weather and fire danger to assist wildland fire managers.
• Accurate measurements of fuel loading in the Pine Barrens.  
• Better understanding of the tradeoffs between hazardous fuel reduction treatments, wildfire risk, and carbon sequestration by forest ecosystems.  

Research Results

Clark, K. L., N. Skowronski, J. Hom, M. Duveneck, Y. Pan, S. Van Tuyl, J. Cole, M. Patterson, and S. Maurer.  2008.  Decision Support Tools to Improve the Effectiveness of Hazardous Fuel Reduction Treatments in the New Jersey Pine Barrens.  International Journal of Wildland Fire, In press. 

Hom, J., K. Clark, Y. Pan, S. Van Tuyl, N. Skowronski and W. Heilman.  Fire Research in the New Jersey Pine Barrens.  In, J. Qu, W. Sommers, A. Riebau, M. Kafatos, and R. Yang, eds. Remote Sensing and Modeling Applications to Wildland Fires, Springer-Verlag, In press.  

Skowronski, N., K. Clark, R. Nelson, J. Hom and M. Patterson. 2007.  Remotely sensed measurements of forest structure and fuel loads in the Pinelands of New Jersey. Remote Sensing of Environment 108: 123-129.   

Clark, K. L., J. Hom, and N. Skowronski.  2005.  Not So Barren (Summary of the NFP-funded project in the Pine Barrens).  Wildfire Magazine, May/June 2005, 14-17.

Research Participants 

Principal Investigators

• Kenneth Clark, US Forest Service Northern Research Station - Research Forester 
• Nicholas Skowronski, US Forest Service Northern Research Station - Research Forester 
• John Hom, US Forest Service Northern Research Station - Biological Scientist

Research Partners

• Warren Heilman, US-Forest Service- Northern Research Station Research Meteorologist 
• Maris Gabliks, State Fire Warden, New Jersey Forest Fire Service
• Richard Lathrop, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
• R. Nelson, Goddard Space Center, NASA

For further details log on website :
https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/disturbance/fire/silas_little/

Interactions of carbon and water cycles in north temperate wetlands: Modeling and observing the impact of a declining water table trend on regional biogeochemistry

Author

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• Sulman, Benjamin N.
• Desai, Ankur R.
• Mackay, D.S.
• Samanta, S.
• Cook, B.D.
• Saliendra, N.

Year Published

2008

Publication

In: 18th Conference on Atmospheric BioGeosciences; 2008 April 28-May 2; Orlando, FL. American Meteorological Society.

Abstract

Terrestrial carbon fluxes represent a major source of uncertainty in estimates of future atmospheric greenhouse gas accumulation and consequently models of climate change. In the Upper Great Lakes states (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan), wetlands cover 14% of the land area, and compose up to one third of the land cover in the forest-wetland landscapes that dominate the northern half of the region. The carbon fluxes of wetland ecosystems, and especially their responses to climate forcings, are currently poorly understood. One major source of error in wetland modeling is the lack of mechanisms for wetland biogeochemistry and hydrology. 

Citation

Sulman, Benjamin N.; Desai, Ankur R.; Mackay, D.S.; Samanta, S.; Cook, B.D.; Saliendra, N. 2008. Interactions of carbon and water cycles in north temperate wetlands: Modeling and observing the impact of a declining water table trend on regional biogeochemistry. In: 18th Conference on Atmospheric BioGeosciences; 2008 April 28-May 2; Orlando, FL. American Meteorological Society.

Last updated on: September 11, 2008

For further details log on website :
https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/8571

Our Mission 

To develop leading edge forest ecosystem monitoring methods and tools to help the Forest Inventory and Analysis Program (FIA) and other organizations monitor forests and ensure that results are compatible across the landscape. Methods and tools will be applied in the Northern States but will have national significance.

Research

Background:
With the increasing pressures to manage public and private land sustainably, the need for efficient monitoring methods has grown dramatically. Forest Certification, the Montreal Criteria and Indicators, Carbon credits and National Forest System (NFS) Planning rules are significant drivers in this movement. FIA is regularly asked to support monitoring efforts at a more local scale by clients such as State Forests, military installations, and National Parks. FIA has worked with numerous states to increase the plot intensity and reduce the measurement cycle in about half the States. NFS monitoring coordinators and planners have expressed strong interest in developing question-driven planning tools and standard protocols to help ensure that data are collected in a scientifically credible manner. By collecting data consistently across Forests or other ownerships, results can be scaled up to the regional and national levels. 

Approach:
The National inventory and Monitoring Applications Center was created to monitor forests more closely using scientifically credible and compatible methods developed by FIA and others. The NIMAC is addressing the need for:

1. Efficient forest ecosystem inventory and monitoring methods that provide critical input for sustainable resource management at mid-scale and local levels. 
2. Mid-scale inventory and monitoring tools that allow forest resource managers to monitor lands efficiently and effectively. 

More Information

This site is under development as the Forest Service brings together the Northeastern and North Central Research Stations to form the Northern Research Station, serving the Northeast and Midwest. Check back often as we expand our site to reflect our combined commitment to supporting the natural resources and people of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. 

For more details about our research visit https://www.fs.fed.us/ne/fia/nmp/

For further details log on website :
https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/monitoring/

Forest Inventory and Analysis

Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) collects, analyzes, reports, and distributes data about the Nation’s forests: how much forest exists, who owns it, what condition it's in, where it’s located, and how it's changed.  

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The Northern Research Station FIA unit is responsible for creating and maintaining a comprehensive forest inventory for 24 States: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The forests in these States cover about 174 million acres or about 30 percent of the land here. 

Data from FIA are used everyday to assess sustainability, to make important business decisions, to evaluate wildlife habitat, and for many other things. National, State, and local policy makers, universities, businesses, tribal governments, national forests and other natural resource agencies, interest groups, and many others depend on FIA for timely, scientifically credible information about our forests.

 

For further details log on website :
https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/fia/