Data Acquisition

Research Issue

The northern region’s forests stretch across a complicated landscape with numerous stressors that impact forest health and ultimately, human health.

Our Research

A strategic-level inventory is conducted to monitor and assess forest character and health for the 20-state northern region, as well as four Plains States.  The inventory is an ongoing annual process that provides updates on conditions each year.  The strategic-level inventory generates the broadest information we have and is integrated into a national system of Forest Inventory and Analysis.  This level of monitoring compliments other station efforts at more tactical levels thus providing a scalable system of monitoring that allows monitoring that ranges from woodlots to eco-regions.

Expected Impact

The result of having up-to-date scalable monitoring of northern forests is the ability to evaluate trends in forest health so that policymakers, forest managers, and others within the environmental community can make informed decisions.

Research Results

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 2014. Forest Inventory and Analysis national core field guide: Volume I: field data collection procedures for phase 2 plots, version 6.1.  [Online publication].  Washington, DC:  U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service.  Available at: http://www.fia.fs.fed.us/library/field-guides-methods-proc/

Research Participants 

Principal Investigator

Robert Ilgenfritz, Supervisory Forester, US Forest Service-Northern Research Station

Research Partners

Connecticut Dept of Conservation.
Delaware Department of Agriculture
Illinois Division of Forest Resources
Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Kansas State Forest Service
Maine Forest Service
Maryland Department of Natural Resources Forest Service
Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
Michigan Division of Forest Management
Michigan State University
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Missouri Department of Conservation
Nebraska Department of Forestry, Fish, and Wildlife
New Hampshire Department of Resources & Economic Development
New Jersey Forest Service
New York Department of Environmental Conservation
North Dakota Forest Service
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
South Dakota Department of Forestry and Nat. Res. Mgmt.
University of Massachusetts
University of Missouri
University of Minnesota
University of Nevada Las Vegas
Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation
University of Maine
West Virginia Division of Forestry
American Forest Foundation
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Appalachian State
University of New Hampshire

Last Modified: 02/19/2015

For further details log on website :
https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/inventory_monitoring/inventory/data_acquisition/