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Abstract
The National Forest System (NFS) Pacific Northwest Region (R6) has been flying LiDAR on a per project basis. Additional field data was also collected in situ to many of these LiDAR projects to aid in the development of predictive models and estimate values which are unattainable through LiDAR data alone (e.g. species composition, tree volume, and downed woody material). Until now, the protocols for collecting vegetation field data within LiDAR project areas have varied from project to project, leading to the inability to share, use, or analyze data across multiple project areas. The R6 Regional Office in conjunction with staff from the National Forests, the Pacific Northwest and Southwest Research Stations, and other collaborators, has developed a regional strategy for standardized field data collection in LiDAR project areas. The strategy includes the modification of Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plots for field data collection. This allows for the opportunity to maintain consistency across the region and to leverage information from the existing FIA and Regional Monitoring data at no additional costs. This presentation will outline the strategy and discuss its implementation within a pilot project area located in the Blue Mountains.
Parent Publication
Citation
Bhuta, Arvind; Rathbun, Leah. 2015. Development of a regional LiDAR field plot strategy for Oregon and Washington. In: Stanton, Sharon M.; Christensen, Glenn A., comps. 2015. Pushing boundaries: new directions in inventory techniques and applications: Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) symposium 2015. 2015 December 8–10; Portland, Oregon. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-931. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. p. 246.
