Forest Inventory and Analysis At the Northeastern Research Station

Forest Inventory and AnalysisAt the Northeastern Research StationTracking the Diverse and Dynamic Forests in the Northeastern States.

United States Department Of Agriculture

FIA is the Nation's forest census. 

• Whether you’re interested in wildlife habitat, evaluating sustainability of forestry practices, or studying global warming and need to estimate the uptake of carbon dioxide by forests, you need good data and information to analyze and make decisions. The FIA project is a response to that need.

• FIA is a National program that, conducts and

maintains comprehensive inventories of the forest resources in the United States.

The Northeast FIA Unit Inventories The Forest In 13 States

90%3327

89%

78%2600

62% 845

78%

60%

59%4839

59% 225

62%5091

45% 80530%4415

41% 1060

30% 208

PERCENTAGE OF LAND IN FORESTAND NUMBER OF FIA PLOTS

967

997

522

Why is FIA Important?• FIA provides objective and scientifically

credible information on key forest ecosystem processes:

• how much forest there is, • what it looks like, • whether the forest area is increasing or

decreasing,• whether we are gaining or losing species, • and how quickly trees are growing, dying,

and being harvested. :

How an inventory is conducted.

• The FIA project does not count every tree in the Northeast. Instead, they use a scientifically designed sampling method. Data’s collected in three phases, with each phase taking a closer look at the forest.

How the inventory is conducted.

• The FIA project does not count every tree in the Northeast. Instead, they use a scientifically designed sampling method. Data’s collected in three phases, with each phase taking a closer look at the forest.

Phase 1 (P1)• Phase 1 (P1) uses satellite imagery to classify

the entire area of a state into forest and nonforest land cover categories. These estimates are used to statistically expand the data collected in phase 2 (P2) to the state or individual county level.

Phase 2

• Phase 2 is a network of ground plots that are visited by trained field crews. This network of permanently established plots is on a grid spaced approximately 3.1 miles apart across the entire country.

Phase Two – Sampling Frame

1 2 4 5 13

3 4 1 2 35

1 2 4 5 13

3 4 1 2 35

Interpenetrating Design Sample Intensity = 1 sample location per 5,933 acres of land Inventory Cycle Length = Five years or 20 percent of the sample locations each year.

Five-Year Panel

Year Three

Year Four

Year Two

Year One

Year Five

Subplot 1

Subplot 2

Subplot 3Subplot 4

120.0 ft

Subplot:24.0 ft radius

Microplot:6.8 ft radius

Annular plot:58.9 ft radius

P2 & P3 Plot Design

On all our field plots, we gather measurements that describe

• General land use• Tree diameter, height,

damage, amount of rotten or missing wood, and tree quality

• Counts of tree regeneration

• General stand characteristics such as forest type, stand age, and disturbance

• Estimates of growth, mortality, and removals (determined by revisiting plots from the previous time period)

Phase 3One out of every 16, P2 plots, is chosen to be a

phase 3 (P3) plot. Phase 3 plots are only measured during the summer

•Crown condition

•Soil condition

•Vegetation diversity and structure

•Down woody debris

•Lichen communities

•Ozone injury

•Tree damage

• Publications

• Accessing data on Web

• Spatial Data Service Center

• Call us with special requests

• Using Mapmaker application on Web

Data Access and Analysis

Major Trends in Forest Resource and Other Interesting Results

0 - 20

20 - 4040 - 60

60 - 8080 - 100

Percent Forest

Percentage of Land in Forest by County

0 - 10

10 - 2020 - 30

30 - 40> 40

Percent Public Ownership

Percentage of Forest Land in Public Ownerships

Change in Forest Land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed by Region

0123456789

10

Ap

pa

lach

ian

Pla

tea

u

Blu

e R

idg

ea

nd

Gre

at

Va

lley

Co

asta

lP

lain

Pie

dm

on

t

Rid

ge

an

dV

alle

y

Mil

lio

ns

of

Ac

res

Previous

Current

+1.3%

+7.5%+1.8% -4.8%

+0.7%

Currently forest land totals 26.5 million acres in the watershed, +0.7% from previous estimates.

Timberland area by stand-size class in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

02468

10121416

Largediameter

Mediumdiameter

Smalldiameter

Nonstocked

Stand size

Mill

ion

s o

f a

cre

s

Previous

Current

The volume of large trees continues to increase.

GROWING-STOCK VOLUME OF TREES IN PENSYLVANIA BY INVENTORY YEAR

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

5.0-6.9 7.0-8.9 9.0-10.9 11.0-12.9 13.0-14.9 15.0-16.9 17.0-18.9 19.0-20.9

Diameter Class (inches at breast height)

Bill

ion

s o

f C

ub

ic F

ee

t 196519781989 2003

YEAR

Portion of Total Growing-stock Volume Composed of Oak Species, Current and Previous Inventories

19%

51%

23%

38%

48%

34%

17%

51%

22%

34%

47%

31%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

AppalachianPlateau

Blue Ridgeand Great

Valley

CoastalPlain

Piedmont Ridge andValley

WatershedAverage

Previous* Current

*The number of years betw een current and previous inventories ranges from a high of 14 years in the Pennsylvania portion of the w atershed to a low of 9 years in the Virginia portion.

Oaks are an important species for wildlife and lumber in Pennsylvania

Recent inventories show a decline in the number of small oaks and an increase in large diameter oaks.

NUMBER OF OAK TREES IN PENNSYLVANIA BY DIAMETER CLASS

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

5.0-6.9

7.0-8.9

9.0-10.9

11.0-12.9

13.0-14.9

15.0-16.9

17.0-18.9

19.0-20.9

21.0-28.9

29.0+

Diameter class (inches at breast height)

Mill

ion

s o

f tr

ees

2003 inventory

1989 inventory

Percentage of Oak Stems by Diameter Class in the

Chesapeake Watershed

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

21.-2

8.9

29.0

+

Diameter Class (inches at breast height)

Pe

rce

nta

ge

of t

ota

l ste

ms

in c

lass

< 1500

1500 - 20002000 - 2500

2500 - 3000> 3000

Volume per acre(Cubic feet)

Average Volume of Trees Per Acre of Timberland

The Survey Instrument• Woodland

characteristics• Ownership objectives• Forest management

and education• Concerns and issues• Future intentions• Demographics

Number of family forest owners in the Chesapeake Bay watershed by size of ownership, 2003

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

1-9 10-49 50-99 100-499 500-999 1000+

Parcel Size (acres)

Num

bers

of O

wne

rs

(tho

usan

ds)

Acres of family forest owners in the Chesapeake Bay watershed by size of ownership, 2003

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

1-9 10-49 50-99 100-499 500-999 1000+

Parcel Size (Acres)

Acr

es (m

illio

ns)

Percentage of numbers of owners and acreage by size of ownerships for family owned forests in the Chesapeake watershed, 2003

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

1-9 10-49 50-99 100-499

500-999

1000-4999

5000+

Parcel Size (acres)

Per

cen

tag

e o

f R

esp

on

den

ts Acres

Number

Area and number of family owned forests in the Chesapeake Bay watershed with written management plan, 2003

4.0

16.7

0

10

20

Owners Acres

Per

cent

Land tenure of family forests in the Chesapeake Bay watershed by years of ownership, 2003

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

<10 10-24 25-49 50+ No

Answer

Years of Ownership

Per

cen

t o

f A

crea

ge

Age of family forest owners in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, 2003

1%

8%

18%

26% 26%

15%

6%

0%

10%

16%

24%

18%

4%

27%

0%

10%

20%

30%

<35 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+ NoAnswer

Area Owners

Age of Owner (Years)

Per

cen

t o

f R

esp

on

den

ts

REASONS RATED AS IMPORTANT FOR OWNING FOREST LAND, 2003

0% 25% 50% 75%

Aestethics

Biodiversty

Land investment

Home or farm

Privacy

Family legacy

NonTimberProd.

Firewood

Timber

Hunting

Other Recreation

Percent

AcresOwners

141.8

-36.5

1.6

106.8

24.1

-82.7-100

-50

0

50

100

150

200

Gross

Growth

Mor tal i ty Change In

Cul l

Net Growth Removals Net Change

63% due to harvest

28% due to land use changed to noncommercial

9% due to land use changed to nonforest

COMPONENTS OF VOLUME CHANGE, 1987-99, MARYLAND

 Gross Growth – Mortality +/- Change in cull = Net Growth Net Growth – Removals = Net Change

State Last periodic Annual inventory

Delaware 1999 1 of 7 subcycles completed

Maryland 1999 1 of 7 subcycles completed

West Virginia 2000 1 of 7 subcycles completed

New York 1993 2 of 6 subcycles completed

Pennsylvania 1989 5 of 5 subcycles completed

Virginia 1992 5 of 5 subcycles completed

Status of FIA Data

Rich Widmann

USDA Forest Service

Forest Inventory & Analysis

11 Campus Boulevard, Suite 200

Newtown Square, PA 19073

E-mail [email protected]

Office 610-557-4051