Making sense of big data: Putting Forest Inventory and Analysis to work in forest planning

Abstract

The Rocky Mountain Research Station works with National Forest planning teams to understand and maximize an important resource: forest data collected by the Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program. The program’s website, found at https://www.fia.fs.fed. us, provides a variety of tools that allow users to download standard reports and create custom queries that can be used to improve the efficiency of their planning process. By integrating or putting FIA data to work, National Forest planners are able to meet the 2012 Planning Rule’s requirements for monitoring and using the best available science. For example, National Forest planning teams can use FIA data to better understand forest characteristics and conditions using readily available data and FIA analysis skills. Additional information on FIA resources for the Interior West region can be found at https://research.fs.usda.gov/programs/fia. Other resources for National Forest plan revision teams include riparian and groundwater-dependent ecosystems assessments and a nationwide toolset of National Forest Climate Change Maps.

Citation

Cooke, Brian; Pelz, Kristen; Witt, Chris; Driscoll, Katelyn; Luce, Charlie; Anderson, David; Barbour, Jamie; Bush, Renate; Friberg, Mary; Perovich, Carolyn. 2020. Making sense of big data: Putting Forest Inventory and Analysis to work in forest planning. Science You Can Use Bulletin, Issue 39. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 11 p.