Timber Products Output

Research Issue

How much wood is removed each year from the northern forests can be estimated from the Forest Inventory and Analysis plot data.  What cannot be determined from the field data is the ultimate extent and use of those removals, and how harvests impact forests and the regional economy.  Timber Product Output surveys are used to obtain estimates of the volume of roundwood removed and utilized, the amount left on the ground as logging residues, what finished products are generated from the roundwood, and the ultimate byproducts or disposal of mill residues.

Our Research

Our research can be divided into three steps:  1) we survey primary timber products users, both industrial and non-industrial; 2) we conduct logging utilization studies at harvest sites; 3) then we link the data from the FIA field plot, the primary users survey, and the utilization studies to provide a comprehensive assessment of the total removals.

The industrial TPO study is a canvass of the primary processors of industrial roundwood in each state on a 3-5 year periodic cycle. This study gives us the information on what species is cut, where it comes from, and what product is produced. Also from this study, we can estimate the volume or mill residues (bark, saw dust, and slabs and edgings) that are produced and whether they are used for other products or not.
The non-industrial TPO study is a survey of residential users of fuelwood and posts on a 10 year cycle. This survey is a two-step process: 1) a survey of residential households as to their personal harvesting of fuelwood and posts, and 2) a survey of commercial producers that harvest and sell products to residential households. For time periods between surveys, the non-industrial uses of wood are indexed to Department of Energy figures.

Logging utilization studies classify removals under the same guidelines that are used on NRS-FIA measurement plot trees. Measurements are taking on harvested trees to determine size, volume being utilized, volume not being utilized, and total height of the trees. Trees damaged or killed in the process of extraction, such as when smaller trees have large trees felled on them, are included.

Combining the data from all our sources provides a comprehensive assessment of the total removals. From the NRS-FIA measurement plots, we can get the removals related to the unutilized trees that occur during land-use conversion, timber stand improvement, precommercial thinnings, etc. Using the logging utilization study and the primary timber products users’ survey, we can determine what products were produced and the volume that was used for products and how much was left on the ground as harvest residue. 

Expected Outcomes

We provide periodic information on the products, species, and locations of harvests. This knowledge aids policymakers, forest managers, forest industry, and others, who evaluate trends in forest product removals, to make informed decisions.

Research Results

Piva, Ronald J. 2007. Pulpwood production in the north-central region, 2005. Resource Bull. NRS-21. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 55 p.

Reading, William H., IV; Bruton, David L. 2007. Kansas timber industry--an assessment of timber product output and use, 2003. Resour. Bull. NC-269. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Research Station. 72 p.

Haugen, David E.; Harsel, Robert A. 2005. North Dakota timber industry--an assessment of timber product output and use, 2003. Resour. Bull. NC-252. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Research Station. 18 p. 

Wharton, Eric H.; Birch, Thomas W. 1999. Trends in Timber Use and Product Recovery in New York. Res. Note NE-367. Radnor, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station. 7 p.

Research Participants

Principal Investigator

• Dave Haugen, US Forest Service-Northern Research Station Forester
• Ron Piva, US Forest Service-Northern Research Station Forester
• Bill Reading, US Forest Service-Northern Research Station Forester
• Eric Wharton, US Forest Service-Northern Research Station Forester

Research Partners

Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Forestry
Delaware Department of Agriculture, Forestry
Illinois Division of Forest Resources
Indiana Division of Forestry
Iowa Department of Natural Resources – Forestry Division
Kansas Forest Service
Maine Department of Conservation, Forest Service
Massachusetts Department of Conservation, Forestry
Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Forest Service
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Minnesota Department of Natural Resource, Division of Forestry
Missouri Department of Conservation
Nebraska Forest Service
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Parks and Forestry
New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands
New York Division of Land and Forests
North Dakota Forest Service
Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Forestry
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry
Rhode Island Division of Forest Environment
South Dakota Division of Resource Conservation and Forestry
Vermont Division of Forestry, Parks, and Recreation
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Forestry Program
West Virginia Division of Forestry

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

Integrating Landscape-scale Forest Measurements with Remote Sensing and Ecosystem Models to Improve Carbon Management Decisions

Research Issue

Managing forests to increase carbon stocks and reduce emissions requires knowledge of how management practices and natural disturbances affect carbon pools over time, and cost-effective techniques for monitoring and reporting.  This study improves upon the methodology to collect and integrate the multi-tier monitoring data from the North American Carbon Program (NACP) with management decisions by systematically scaling up intensive forest carbon measurements to land management areas (or landscapes), and reconciling these estimates with ecosystem models and decision-support systems that are driven by remote sensing and national inventories.  Monitoring systems for carbon stocks and fluxes in the NACP include a multi-tier hierarchy of observation methods: flux towers, landscape biometrics, inventories, and remote sensing.   

Our Research

Our approach involves (1) strengthening the connection between field measurements, simulation modeling, and remote sensing, (2) closing the carbon budget at selected sites and multiple scales by using and reconciling multiple estimation approaches, and (3) linking data and research models to decision support systems.  The data foundation of this integrated research is a network of field sites with flux towers and intensive biometric measurements of carbon stocks and soil CO2 fluxes, airborne LIDAR remote sensing, Landsat-TM and MODIS products, and in-situmeasurements scaled up to landscapes based on statistical methods and models (Birdsey et al. 2004 available at https://www.fs.fed.us/research/efr/publications/Birdsey-DOE-EFR-C-2004.pdf).  The biometric measurements at these sites, termed “Tier 3” sites in the North American Carbon Program science plan, are intended to integrate the spatially extensive, but coarsely resolved, measurements made through remote sensing and forest inventory with the spatially intensive and highly resolved measurements made at AmeriFlux sites.  The “benchmark” sites provide parameters and validation for ecosystem models, which in turn provide the basic information that is needed by decision-support tools for policy and management.    

This research builds upon a foundation of work begun in 2001 by the U.S. Forest Service to implement a forest carbon monitoring and observation system at the FS network of Experimental Forests. Landscape monitoring sites were selected to represent a variety of managed and unmanaged forest conditions in different physiographic regions, so that the methods could be thoroughly tested using a representative range of landscapes.  Most of the sites have flux towers and all have maps of vegetation structure from LIDAR and processed imagery from Landsat-TM and MODIS subsets. At each of the sites we use biometric measurements to monitor the carbon pools that contribute most to annual changes in productivity: remeasurement of the tree diameters and heights at the original sample plot locations to obtain estimates of woody biomass increment; and measurements of litterfall and soil CO2 flux.  We use spatial analysis techniques and an ecosystem process model (PnET-CN) to scale up and map observations from flux towers, landscape biometrics, and inventories to areas of approximately 2500 km2 around flux tower sites. With a network of sites that represent different managed forests of the U.S., we envision a set of “benchmark” estimates that can efficiently and reliably document the expected effects of management decisions on the most important carbon pools, and separate these effects from natural factors such as climate variability.

The Northern Research Station has several participating research sites:

1. The Bartlett Experimental Forest
2. The Silas Little Experimental Forest
3. The Marcell Experimental Forest

This research is linked to the NRS Flux Tower network. 

Expected Outcomes

The final review draft assessment report on the state of the carbon cycle of North America addressed needs for decision support for forest carbon management, concluding that “Decisions concerning carbon storage in North American forests and their management as carbon sources and sinks will be significantly improved by (1) filling gaps in inventories of carbon pools and fluxes, (2) a better understanding of how management practices affect carbon in forests, (3) better estimates of potential changes in forest carbon under climate change and other factors, and (4) the increased availability of decision support tools for carbon management in forests.” 
Key information for decision-support tools includes (1) estimates of carbon stocks and quantified impacts of management activity; (2) estimates of net ecosystem production (NEP) and changes in carbon pools; and (3) estimates of forest/atmosphere carbon fluxes and relevant effects from various environmental controls. This work is relevant to land managers and climate change policy because it supports a need to estimate and report carbon stocks and changes in carbon stocks to state, regional, national, and private greenhouse gas registries.  This work also develops large-scale ground truth sites for future NASA missions.  

Bradford, J., L. Joyce, R. Birdsey, and M. Ryan.  2007.  Tree age, disturbance history and carbon dynamics in sub-alpine Rocky Mountain forests. (in prep)

Research Results

Birdsey, R.A., J.C. Jenkins, M. Johnston, E. Huber-Sannwald, B. Amero, B. de Jong, J.D.E. Barra, N. French, F. Garcia-Oliva, M. Harmon, L.S. Heath, V.J. Jaramillo, K. Johnsen, B.E. Law, E. Marín-Spiotta, O. Masera, R. Neilson, Y. Pan, and K.S. Pregitzer, 2007: North American Forests. In: The FirstState of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR): The North American Carbon Budget and Implications for the Global Carbon Cycle. A Report by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research [King, A.W., L. Dilling, G.P. Zimmerman, D.M. Fairman, R.A. Houghton, G. Marland, A.Z. Rose, and T.J. Wilbanks (eds.)]. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC, USA, pp. 117-126.

Birdsey, Richard A.; Cook, Robert; Denning, Scott; Griffith, Peter; Law, Beverly; Masek, Jeffrey; Michalak, Anna; Ogle, Stephen; Ojima, Dennis; Pan, Yude; Sabine, Christopher; Sheffner, Edwin; Sundquist, Eric. 2007. Investigators share improved understanding of the North American carbon cycle. American Geophysical Union. 88(24): 255.

Birdsey, Richard A.  2006. Carbon accounting rules and guidelines for the United States forest sector. Journal of Environmental Quality.  35: 1518-1524. 

Birdsey, R., R. Kolka, M.L. Smith, M. Ryan, D. Hollinger, L. Heath, and C. Hoover.  2004.   Landscape carbon monitoring and analysis at the experimental forest network.  Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Conference on Carbon Sequestration.(electronic only)  Alexandria, VA May 2004

Potter, C.; Klooster, S.; Hiatt, S.; Fladeland, M.; Genovese, V; Gross, P. 2006a, Satellite-derived estimates of potential carbon sequestration though afforestation of agricultural lands in the United States, Climatic Change (In Press).

Potter, C., S. Klooster, R. Nemani, V. Genovese, S. Hiatt, M. Fladeland and P. Gross, 2006b, Estimating Carbon Budgets for U.S. Ecosystems, Eos Transactions American Geophysical Union, 87(8), 85-96.

Pan, Yude; Birdsey, Richard; Hom, John; McCullough, Kevin; Clark, Kenneth.  2005. Improved estimates of net primary productivity from MODIS satellite data at regional and local scales. Ecological Applications.  16(1): 125-132. 

Ryan, MG; Law, BE.  2005.  Interpreting, measuring and modeling soil respiration.  Biogeochemistry 73: 3-27 

Research Participants

Principal Investigator

• Richard Birdsey, US Forest Service – Northern Research Station Program Manager 
• David Hollinger, US Forest Service – Northern Research Station Plant Physiologist
• John Bradford, US Forest Service – Northern Research Station Research Ecologist 
• Randall Kolka, US Forest Service – Northern Research Station Research Soil Scientist 
• John Hom, US Forest Service – Northern Research Station Biological Scientist 
• Yude Pan, Research Forester, US Forest Service - Northern Research Station
• Ken Clark, Research Forester, US Forest Service – Northern Research Station 

Research Partners

• Chris Potter, NASA Ames Research Center 
• Michael Ryan, Rock Mountain Research Station 
• Steven McNulty, Southern Research Station 
• Steven Klooster, University of California 
• Scott Ollinger, University of New Hampshire

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

Impacts of Disturbances and Climate on Carbon Sequestration and Biofuels

Research Issue

Currently, U.S. forests and forest products offset about 20% of the nation’s fossil fuel emissions. However, recent findings cast doubt on the sustainability of this offset. First, the strength of the U.S. forest carbon offset may be weakening due to forest ageing, climate variability, and increasing natural disturbances. Second, climate change is expected to further increase frequencies of insect outbreaks and wildfire, and alter species composition in forest ecosystems, consequently influencing forest carbon pools in a significant way.  These current and projected forest carbon cycle dynamics need to be considered in strategic forest planning and management decisions in coming decades if the nation’s forests are to provide stable or even increasing ecosystem services.

Our Research

We will provide high resolution continental maps of annually estimated forestland-atmosphere carbon exchange and other variables (i.e. biofuel product), and use a disturbance-driven ecosystem process model combined with age-climate related growth and mortality equations to project changes in carbon stocks under scenarios of future climate and disturbances. Data from FIA and ecosystem studies will be used to develop a forest age map and a net primary production (NPP) map of 2006 as “knowledge” to validate model simulations using historical climate, disturbances and atmospheric data. Through this work, we will take advantage of the combined power of FIA data and process knowledge from ecosystem studies, to achieve better accuracy and detection of carbon changes and causes of changes in the US forests, and provide the best available knowledge for managing forest C at regional and national scales.  

Expected Outcomes

The U.S. urgently needs a comprehensive forest management strategy that is based on the best available knowledge to sustain or increase forest benefits including the offset to fossil fuel emissions. The Chief of the Forest Service has called for a national effort to increase carbon sequestration, increase use of biofuels, and address threats to U.S. forests.  This research develops the scientific basis for evaluating the effects of climate change and disturbances on the forest carbon cycle, and provides basic information for analysis of tactical management alternatives at the scale of National Forests or States.

Research Results

We will provide the following specific data and products including: 1) the continental forest age and disturbance maps to characterize forest disturbance and regrowth effects; 2) age-climate related growth and mortality equations of major forest types within eco-regions; 3) inventory-based reference map of NPP served to constrain model predictions and as the “start point” for assessing future forest carbon changes, and 4) a unique disturbance-driven ecosystem process model, statistically parameterized by FIA data.

Zhang, F; Chen, JM; Pan, Y; Birdsey, RA; Shen, S; Ju, W; Dugan, AJ. 2015. Impacts of inadequate historical disturbance data in the early 20th century on modeling recent carbon dynamics (1951-2010) in conterminous US forests. JGR-Biogeosciences 120(3): 549-569. 

Birdsey, R; Pan, Y; Janowiak, M; Stewart, S; Hines, S; Parker, L; Gower, S; Lichstein, J; McCullough, K; Zhang, F; Chen, J; Mladenoff, D; Wayson, C; Swanston, C. 2014. Past and prospective carbon stocks in forests of northern Wisconsin: a report from the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest Climate Change Response Framework. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-127. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 52 p. 

Deng, F.; Chen, J.M.; Pan, Y.; Peters, W.; Birdsey, R.; McCullough, K.; Xiao, J. 2013. The use of forest stand age information in an atmospheric CO2 inversion applied to North America. Biogeosciences. 10(8): 5335-5348.

Dilling, L; Birdsey, R; Pan, Y. 2013. Opportunities and challenges for carbon management on U.S. public lands. Chapter 18. In: Brown DG, Robinson DT, French NHF, Reed BC (eds). Land use and the Carbon Cycle: Advance in Integrated Science, management, and Policy. Cambridge University Press, New York, p455-454. 

He, L; Chen, JM; Pan, Y; Birdsey, R; Kattge, J. 2012. Relationships between net primary productivity and forest stand age in U.S. forests. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 26: GB3009, doi:10.1029.

Zhang, F; Chen, JM; Pan, Y; Birdsey, RA; Shen, S; Ju, W; He, L. 2012. Attributing carbon changes in conterminous U.S. forests to disturbance and non-disturbance factors from 1901 to 2010. J. Geophysical Research 117: G02021, doi:10.1029.

Pan, Y; Chen, JM; Birdsey, R; McCullough, K; He, L; Deng, F. 2011. Age structure and disturbance legacy of North American forests. Biogeosciences 8:715-732. 

He, L; Chen, JM; Zhang, S; Gomez, G; Pan, Y; McCullough, K; Birdsey, R. 2011. Normalized algorithm for mapping and dating forest disturbances and regrowth for the United States. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation 13:236-245 

Pan, Y; Birdsey, R; Chen, J; McCullough, K. 2008. Forest Carbon Change of the United States in Response to Impact of Disturbances, Succession, Climate Variability and Atmospheric Chemistry. In: Proceedings of the International Conference of IUFRO-8.01.02 Landscape Ecology, p.136-137

Smith, Pete; Nabuurs, Gert-Jan; Janssens, Ivan A.; Reis, Stefan; Marland, Gregg; Soussana, Jean-François; Christensen, Torben R.; Heath, Linda; Apps, Mike; Alexeyev, Vlady; Fang, Jingyun; Gattuso, Jean-Pierre; Guerschman, Juan Pablo; Huang, Yao; Jobbagy, Esteban; Murdiyarso, Daniel; Ni, Jian; Nobre, Antonio; Peng, Changhui; Walcroft, Adrian; Wang, Shao Qiang; Pan, Yude; Zhou, Guang Sheng. 2008. Sectoral approaches to improve regional carbon budgets Climate Change 88: 209-249.

Pan Y, Birdsey R, Hom J, McCullough K. 2007. Modeling complex effects of multiple environmental stresses on carbon dynamics of Mid-Atlantic temperate forests. Book of Abstracts The U.S. North American Carbon Program (NACP) Investigators, p58-59. NACP All Scientists Meeting, January 22-24, Colorado Springs, CO.

Research Participants

Principal Investigators

• Yude Pan, Research Forester, US Forest Service Northern Research Station
• Richard Birdsey, Program Manager, US Forest Service Northern Research Station

Research Partners

• Jing Chen, University of Toronto

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

National Assessments of Urban Forests

Research Issue

To improve urban forest planning, management and policies at the local to national scale, information is needed on the extent of the urban forest resource, how it varies across the nation and how it is changing. This research combines top-down satellite analysis and national urban map data with local field data to help understand the magnitude and composition of this important resource, how urbanization is expanding, and factors that will lead to changes in tree species health and distribution in the future.  This information will lead to better regional and national policies and budgeting to improve environmental quality and sustain tree health in urban and urbanizing regions.

Our Research

Our research unit focuses on utilizing satellite or aerial-based technologies to assess urban tree cover distribution at the city to national scale. In conjunction with the aerial cover data, research investigates the best means to field sample urban areas to determine vital statistics such species composition and health, species diversity, and size-class distribution. These data are combined to produces estimates of urban forests composition and health, and associated ecosystem services at the local to nation scale. Long-term monitoring data are used to assess how the urban forest resource is changing, reasons for the changes, and likely changes in the future. National monitoring and assessments are part of the Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment program and the Forest Inventory and Analysis, and Forest Health Monitoring programs of the Forest Service. National urban forest field data collection is being pilot tested in various states across the United States as part of the Urban Forest Health Monitoring Program. Urban tree cover and ecosystem services at the national scale are being developed as part of the RPA program with the 2nd national urban forest assessment nearing completion. 

Expected Outcomes

These national data are being used to assess the risk of various invasive pests in urban areas and develop strategies to sustain ecosystem benefits and urban tree cover for future generations.

Research Results

Links to the abstracts of select published articles: 

• National Urban Forest Assessment (Journal of Forestry, 2001) 
• Asian longhorned beetle assessment (Journal of Economic Entomology, 2001)
• National Urban Forest Carbon Assessment(Environmental Pollution, 2002)
• National Urban Forest Compensatory Value (Journal of Arboriculture, 2002)
• The Increasing Influence of Urban Environments on U.S. Forest Management (Journal of Forestry, 2005)
• Air Pollution Removal by Urban Trees and Shrubs in the United States (Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 2006)
• Oxygen production by urban trees in the United States (Arboriculture and Urban Forestry 2007)
• Assessing Urban Forest Canopy Cover Using Airborne or Satellite Imagery (Arboriculture and Urban Forestry, 2008)
• Urban Forest Health Monitoring: Large-Scale Assessments in the United States (Arboriculture and Urban Forestry, 2008)

References

Buckelew Cumming, A., D.B. Twardus, D.J. Nowak. 2008. Urban Forest Health Monitoring:Large- Scale Assessments in the United States. Arboriculture and Urban Forestry. 34(6):341-346. 

Walton, J.T., D.J. Nowak, E.J. Greenfield. 2008. Assessing Urban Forest Canopy Cover Using Airborne or Satellite Imagery. Arboriculture and Urban Forestry. 34(6):334-340.

Buckelew Cumming, A., D.J. Nowak, D.B. Twardus, R. Hoehn, M. Mielke, and R. Rideout. 2007. Urban Forests of Wisconsin 2002: Pilot Monitoring Project 2002. USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry Report, NA-FR-05-07.  33 p. 

Nowak, D.J., A. Buckelew Cumming, D. Twardus, R. Hoehn, M. Mielke. 2007. National Forest Health Monitoring Program, Monitoring Urban Forests in Indiana: Pilot Study 2002, Part 2: Statewide Estimates Using the UFORE Model. Northeastern Area Report. NA-FR-01-07. 13 p. 

Nowak, D.J., R.H. Hoehn, and D.E. Crane. 2007. Oxygen production by urban trees in the United States. Arboriculture and Urban Forestry. 33(3):220-226.

Nowak, D.J., D.E. Crane and J.C. Stevens. 2006. Air pollution removal by urban trees and shrubs in the United States. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening. 4:115-12.

Pouyat, R.V., I.D. Yesilonis, and D. Nowak. 2006. Carbon storage by urban soils in the United States. J. Environ. Quality. 35:1566-1575. 

Nowak, D.J. and J.T. Walton. 2005. Projected Urban Growth and its Estimated Impact on the U.S. Forest Resource (2000-2050). J. For. 103(8):383-389.  

Nowak, D.J., J.T. Walton, J.F. Dwyer, S. Myeong, and L.G. Kaya. 2005. The increasing influence of urban environments on U.S. forest management. J. For. 103(8):377-382.

Walton, Jeffrey T. 2005. An investigation of national tree canopy assessments applied to urban forestry. Syracuse, NY: State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. 88 p. Ph.D. dissertation. 

Nowak, D.J. and D.E. Crane. 2002. Carbon storage and sequestration by urban trees in the United States. Environ. Poll. 116(3): 381-389.

Nowak, D.J. and J.F. Dwyer. 2002. Assessing the value of urban forests in the United States. In: 2001 Society of American Foresters National Conference Proceedings. Denver, CO. p. 237-241.

Nowak, D.J., D.E. Crane, J.C. Stevens, and M. Ibarra. 2002. Brooklyn’s Urban Forest. USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. 290. 107 p.

Nowak, D.J., D.E. Crane, and J.F. Dwyer. 2002. Compensatory value of urban trees in the United States. J. Arboric.28(4): 194-199.

Nowak, D.J. and J.F. Dwyer. 2002. Urban forest structure and value at the national scale. Proc. of the National Urban Forest Conference. Washington, DC. p. 24-25. 

Nowak, D.J., M.H. Noble, S.M. Sisinni, and J.F. Dwyer. 2001. Assessing the U.S. urban forest resource.J. For. 99(3):37-42. 

Nowak, D.J., J. Pasek, R. Sequeira, D.E. Crane, and V. Mastro. 2001. Potential effect of  Anoplophora glabripennis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) on urban trees in the United States. J. Econon. Entomol. 94(1):116-122.

Research Participants

Principal Investigators and Research Partners

• David J. Nowak, US Forest Service Northern Research Station Project Leader and Research Forester 
• Eric Greenfield, US Forest Service Northern Research Station Research Forester 
• Robert Hoehn, US Forest Service Northern Research Station Forester 
• Jack Stevens, US Forest Service Northern Research Station Forester
• Daniel E. Crane, US Forest Service Northern Research Station Information Technology Specialist
• Chris Sorrentino, US Forest Service Northern Research Station Data Services Specialist GIS
• Anne Cumming Buckelew, US Forest Service State & Private Forestry Northeastern Area Forester
• Dan Twardus, US Forest Service State & Private Forestry Northeastern Area Group Leader 
• Angie Rowe, US Forest Service Southern Research Station Supervisory Forester

For further details log on website :
https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/urban/landscape_change/national_assessments/

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/

Monitoring and Understanding Forest/Atmosphere Carbon Dioxide Exchange: the NRS Flux Tower Network

Research Issue

The exchange of carbon dioxide (CO₂) between the land and the atmosphere is one of the most important indicators of ecosystem productivity. The eddy-flux measurement approach, involving the short-term measurement of flux densities (vertical transport of mass, momentum and energy per unit area and time), has become a standard approach to continuously monitor the effects of climate variability and other causal factors on carbon sequestration or release from ecosystems. Net ecosystem CO₂ exchange is presently measured at more than 30 sites in North America. Many of these research and monitoring sites are part of the AmeriFlux network. Flux towers are an integral part of the North American Carbon Program, a multi-agency effort to measure and understand the sources and sinks of CO₂, Methane (CH₄), and Carbon Monoxide (CO) in North America and in adjacent ocean regions.

Summed over the course of a month, season or year, data from these sites provide accurate measures of ecosystem CO2 source or sink strengths. The flux towers provide information specific to one ecosystem type or condition. Increasingly, multiple flux towers are located in contrasting conditions to increase understanding of the effects of different treatments (e.g., harvesting), gradients of vegetation composition, or age chronosequences. 

Data from flux sites help test physiological models of C exchange and are critical to relating fluxes and remote sensing data. Companion physiological and ecological measurements enable partitioning carbon fluxes into plant and soil components and reveal mechanisms responsible for these fluxes. At some sites, biomass-based estimates of C storage have validated C budgets from direct flux data, and vice-versa. Data from the flux sites have been applied in ecology, weather forecasting, and climate studies, especially for sites with several years of data to quantify inter-annual flux variations. 

Our Research

The Northern Research Station has several operating flux towers located at:

1. The Howland Research Forest
2. The Bartlett Experimental Forest
3. The Silas Little Experimental Forest
4. The Marcell Experimental Forest
5. The Baltimore Long Term Ecological Research Site

The Northern Research Station has a long-term study sponsored by NASA and the Forest Service under the North American Carbon Program, to develop a landscape-scale monitoring tier that links the intensive measurements of the flux tower sites with the extensive monitoring by FIA and remote sensing.

Expected Outcomes

• Develop quantitative scientific knowledge about changes in carbon stocks, and the factors regulating these changes, to support sustainable forest management for North America.
• Develop the scientific basis required to monitor and verify the results of managing forests for increasing carbon sequestration.
• To develop forecasts for future trends that will guide policies for protecting forests under climate variability and change.

Research Results

Scientific papers, models, data assimilation tools, large datasets for modeling and synthesis activities (available through AmeriFlux and the NRS website), general technical reports, methods manuals, books. 

• Howland data 
• Howland site info and papers

Research Participants

Principal Investigator

• David Hollinger, Plant Physiologist, USDA-Forest Service – NRS
• Kenneth Clark, Research Forester, USDA-Forest Service – NRS
• John Hom, Biological Scientist, , USDA-Forest Service – NRS
• Randy Kolka, Research Hydrologist, USDA-Forest Service- NRS

Research Partners

• Bryan Dail, University of Maine
• Andrew Richardson, University of New Hampshire
• Eric Davidson, Woods Hole Research Center
• Ming Xu, Rutgers University
• University of Maryland Baltimore County

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

Urban Natural Resources Stewardship

Research Issue

To improve urban forest planning, management and policies at the local to national scale, information is needed on the extent of the urban forest resource, how it varies across the nation and how it is changing. This research combines top-down satellite analysis and national urban map data with local field data to help understand the magnitude and composition of this important resource, how urbanization is expanding, and factors that will lead to changes in tree species health and distribution in the future.  This information will lead to better regional and national policies and budgeting to improve environmental quality and sustain tree health in urban and urbanizing regions.

Our Research

Our research unit focuses on utilizing satellite or aerial-based technologies to assess urban tree cover distribution at the city to national scale. In conjunction with the aerial cover data, research investigates the best means to field sample urban areas to determine vital statistics such species composition and health, species diversity, and size-class distribution. These data are combined to produces estimates of urban forests composition and health, and associated ecosystem services at the local to nation scale. Long-term monitoring data are used to assess how the urban forest resource is changing, reasons for the changes, and likely changes in the future. National monitoring and assessments are part of the Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment program and the Forest Inventory and Analysis, and Forest Health Monitoring programs of the Forest Service. National urban forest field data collection is being pilot tested in various states across the United States as part of the Urban Forest Health Monitoring Program. Urban tree cover and ecosystem services at the national scale are being developed as part of the RPA program with the 2nd national urban forest assessment nearing completion. 

Expected Outcomes

These national data are being used to assess the risk of various invasive pests in urban areas and develop strategies to sustain ecosystem benefits and urban tree cover for future generations.

Research Results

Links to the abstracts of select published articles: 

• National Urban Forest Assessment (Journal of Forestry, 2001) 
• Asian longhorned beetle assessment (Journal of Economic Entomology, 2001)
• National Urban Forest Carbon Assessment(Environmental Pollution, 2002)
• National Urban Forest Compensatory Value (Journal of Arboriculture, 2002)
• The Increasing Influence of Urban Environments on U.S. Forest Management (Journal of Forestry, 2005)
• Air Pollution Removal by Urban Trees and Shrubs in the United States (Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 2006)
• Oxygen production by urban trees in the United States (Arboriculture and Urban Forestry 2007)
• Assessing Urban Forest Canopy Cover Using Airborne or Satellite Imagery (Arboriculture and Urban Forestry, 2008)
• Urban Forest Health Monitoring: Large-Scale Assessments in the United States (Arboriculture and Urban Forestry, 2008)

References

Buckelew Cumming, A., D.B. Twardus, D.J. Nowak. 2008. Urban Forest Health Monitoring:Large- Scale Assessments in the United States. Arboriculture and Urban Forestry. 34(6):341-346. 

Walton, J.T., D.J. Nowak, E.J. Greenfield. 2008. Assessing Urban Forest Canopy Cover Using Airborne or Satellite Imagery. Arboriculture and Urban Forestry. 34(6):334-340.

Buckelew Cumming, A., D.J. Nowak, D.B. Twardus, R. Hoehn, M. Mielke, and R. Rideout. 2007. Urban Forests of Wisconsin 2002: Pilot Monitoring Project 2002. USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry Report, NA-FR-05-07.  33 p. 

Nowak, D.J., A. Buckelew Cumming, D. Twardus, R. Hoehn, M. Mielke. 2007. National Forest Health Monitoring Program, Monitoring Urban Forests in Indiana: Pilot Study 2002, Part 2: Statewide Estimates Using the UFORE Model. Northeastern Area Report. NA-FR-01-07. 13 p. 

Nowak, D.J., R.H. Hoehn, and D.E. Crane. 2007. Oxygen production by urban trees in the United States. Arboriculture and Urban Forestry. 33(3):220-226.

Nowak, D.J., D.E. Crane and J.C. Stevens. 2006. Air pollution removal by urban trees and shrubs in the United States. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening. 4:115-12.

Pouyat, R.V., I.D. Yesilonis, and D. Nowak. 2006. Carbon storage by urban soils in the United States. J. Environ. Quality. 35:1566-1575. 

Nowak, D.J. and J.T. Walton. 2005. Projected Urban Growth and its Estimated Impact on the U.S. Forest Resource (2000-2050). J. For. 103(8):383-389.  

Nowak, D.J., J.T. Walton, J.F. Dwyer, S. Myeong, and L.G. Kaya. 2005. The increasing influence of urban environments on U.S. forest management. J. For. 103(8):377-382.

Walton, Jeffrey T. 2005. An investigation of national tree canopy assessments applied to urban forestry. Syracuse, NY: State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. 88 p. Ph.D. dissertation. 

Nowak, D.J. and D.E. Crane. 2002. Carbon storage and sequestration by urban trees in the United States. Environ. Poll. 116(3): 381-389.

Nowak, D.J. and J.F. Dwyer. 2002. Assessing the value of urban forests in the United States. In: 2001 Society of American Foresters National Conference Proceedings. Denver, CO. p. 237-241.

Nowak, D.J., D.E. Crane, J.C. Stevens, and M. Ibarra. 2002. Brooklyn’s Urban Forest. USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. 290. 107 p.

Nowak, D.J., D.E. Crane, and J.F. Dwyer. 2002. Compensatory value of urban trees in the United States. J. Arboric.28(4): 194-199.

Nowak, D.J. and J.F. Dwyer. 2002. Urban forest structure and value at the national scale. Proc. of the National Urban Forest Conference. Washington, DC. p. 24-25. 

Nowak, D.J., M.H. Noble, S.M. Sisinni, and J.F. Dwyer. 2001. Assessing the U.S. urban forest resource.J. For. 99(3):37-42. 

Nowak, D.J., J. Pasek, R. Sequeira, D.E. Crane, and V. Mastro. 2001. Potential effect of  Anoplophora glabripennis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) on urban trees in the United States. J. Econon. Entomol. 94(1):116-122.

Research Participants

Principal Investigators and Research Partners

• David J. Nowak, US Forest Service Northern Research Station Project Leader and Research Forester 
• Eric Greenfield, US Forest Service Northern Research Station Research Forester 
• Robert Hoehn, US Forest Service Northern Research Station Forester 
• Jack Stevens, US Forest Service Northern Research Station Forester
• Daniel E. Crane, US Forest Service Northern Research Station Information Technology Specialist
• Chris Sorrentino, US Forest Service Northern Research Station Data Services Specialist GIS
• Anne Cumming Buckelew, US Forest Service State & Private Forestry Northeastern Area Forester
• Dan Twardus, US Forest Service State & Private Forestry Northeastern Area Group Leader 
• Angie Rowe, US Forest Service Southern Research Station Supervisory Forester

For further details log on website :
https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/urban/landscape_change/national_assessments/

Development of Software Tools for the Planning, Execution and Analysis of Inventory and Monitoring Studies

Research Issue

National Inventory and Monitoring Applications Center (NIMAC) clients often contact us with general goals and desired outcomes of a monitoring study. Without specific goals, however, it is difficult to determine what variables to measure, how to design the inventory, what products will be produced, and how results will be used. Above all, planning and budget formation cannot proceed without these critical first steps. Once the project goals are established, the planning phase can begin. However, without a consistent, documented procedure to design the study and estimate costs given a desired level of precision of results, it is difficult to plan efficiently. Finally, once results are collected, tools are needed to store, process, and report estimates and their precision derived from the monitoring study. 

Our Research

Often forest inventory planners start by determining what is to be measured without specifying what the information needs are or the results that must be produced.  Instead NIMAC has developed a series of 15 inventory and monitoring steps to help ensure that the monitoring is effective and efficient.  A set of tools has been developed (and is being enhanced) to assist with these steps. NIMAC created various procedures, tools and utilities to design, establish and conduct the survey, including GIS tools, data recorder programs, and data transfer methodology. Finally, NIMAC has worked to create new and adapt existing database, processing and reporting systems to incorporate clients’ data.  

Design Tool:

The Design Tool for Inventory and Monitoring (DTIM) implements a software-driven process whereby National Forests and other clients are guided through the monitoring program planning process.  It helps clients start by determining their true monitoring objectives and questions. Once these monitoring questions have been established, the Design Tool presents attributes to measure that will answer those questions.  The tool then helps them estimate the sample size and resulting inventory costs based on user-specified precision and design constraints. It can be adapted to different clients’ specific monitoring needs. NIMAC scientists previously developed a tool that helps create efficient plot designs, including the one currently used by the FIA program.

Survey Establishment Tools:

NIMAC scientists have developed an innovative procedure for establishing a monitoring plot network. This method forces sample plots to be distributed evenly across a study area without violating the major assumptions of classical statistical estimation procedures. It has been used to establish sample networks in various NIMAC projects. 

Processing, Analysis and Reporting Tools:

FIA has an existing processing and reporting tool called  FIDO. NIMAC has developed the ability to adapt this tool to incorporate clients’ data. In addition to FIDO, NIMAC scientists have created other PC-based processing tools (e.g., TABGEN), that use the same extensively peer reviewed analysis methodology used by the FIA program. NIMAC is currently developing an analysis tool that will allow clients to interactively query and report on their inventory findings using a GIS-based interface.

Expected Outcomes

NIMAC hopes to create a suite of integrated tools in the form of a toolkit that can be readily adapted to new clients’ needs and serve as a model for other agencies around the country and world that want to establish monitoring programs. As the toolkit matures, more and more clients will begin to use it and its quality and usefulness will continue to improve.

Research Results

Lister, A.J. and C.T. Scott. 2008.  Use of space-filling curves to select sample locations in natural resource monitoring studies.  Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 

Scott, Charles T.  2000.  Estimating two-way tables based on forest surveys  In: Hansen, Mark; Burk, Tom, eds. Integrated tools for natural resources inventories in the 21st century. Gen. Tech. Rep. NC-212. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station. 234-238.

Scott, C.T., E.S. Guiang, C. Seubert, and T. Stewart 1996. Proposed forest resource survey for communities in the Philippines. P.305-317 in Multiple Resource Inventory and Monitoring of Tropical Forests. Hassan, H.A., C.Y. Mun, and N. Rahman (eds.). ASEAN Institute of Forest Management, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Research Participants 

Principal Investigators

• Charles T. Scott, US Forest Service, Northern Research Station NIMAC Program Manager
• James Westfall, US Forest Service, Northern Research Station Research Forester
• Andrew Lister, US Forest Service, Northern Research Station Research Forester
• Jay Solomakos, US Forest Service, Northern Research Station Systems Analyst
• Steve Evans, US Forest Service, Northern Research Station Forester

Research Partners

• Patrice Janiga, Forest Service Ecosystem Management Coordination
• Renate Bush, Forest Service Forest Service Region 1
• Barry “Ty” Wilson, Northern Forest Inventory and Analysis

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