Forest Monitoring and Assessment (FMA) Research

The Forest Monitoring and Assessment (FMA) Program provides science and technical applications that can be readily used by land managers and decisionmakers to improve the quality of life for people in the Pacific Northwest, the Nation, and the world.

Our research program focuses on landscape assessment, management, partnerships, as well as delivery of science and technology through education and outreach. The FMA program addresses current and future natural resource issues with applied research that produces tools that are of use to on-the-ground natural resource specialists and others. FMA scientists are based at the Forestry Sciences Laboratories in Anchorage, Corvallis, Portland, Olympia, and Seattle, but team scientists and staff conduct research projects across the range of Pacific Northwest (PNW)-FIA states (Alaska, California, Hawaii and the U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands, Oregon, and Washington), as well as on topics that are national and international in scope.

The Vegetation Monitoring Science and Application (VeMSA) team develops and applies comprehensive, regional-scale resource information to improve the management and understanding of forests and rangelands. Most of the team's research is focused on improving monitoring techniques and developing new applications for the Forest Inventory and Analysis Program (FIA).

The Vegetation Monitoring and Remote Sensing (VMaRS) team uses state-of-the-art geospatial technologies with traditional forest inventory information to increase the accuracy and precision of resource monitoring systems over multiple spatial scales. Application of remote sensing can increase the efficiency of monitoring and enable near-term detection of changes in the condition of aquatic, riparian, and terrestrial ecosystems affected by management and natural disturbance. Research conducted by VMaRS scientists consists of a range of activities, from very focused and detailed explorations of narrowly defined problems to broad descriptions of vegetation and change processes and ecological consequences across large spatial scales.

Follow this link for a list of publications by FMA program scientists. All publications are fully downloadable.