Annual estimates of wind disturbance in relation to time of observation in a panelized national forest inventory

Abstract

We used national forest inventory data from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, U.S.A. to produce estimates of the annual areal extent of wind disturbance for 2005–2018. Our results indicate that at least for wind in the region, including the panel of plots assigned to the inventory year coincident with the disturbance year produces estimates that are lower than estimates computed with that specific inventory year excluded. We attributed this result to partial observation of disturbance for that year, a situation that arises from the operational necessity of a year or more being required to measure all the plots in a panel. There was modest evidence to suggest that in a five-panel inventory, including the inventory year measured furthest in time from the disturbance year being estimated can result in estimates lower than estimates computed with that specific inventory year excluded. This could occur, for example, if the signs of wind damage substantially dissipate several years after the disturbance year. For estimation of annual wind disturbance in the region, data users may consider which panels are included, with particular attention to the inventory year coincident with the disturbance year being estimated and, in the case of combinations of five panels measured consecutively, the inventory year measured furthest in time from the disturbance year.

Citation

​Edgar, Christopher B.; Westfall, James A. 2025. Annual estimates of wind disturbance in relation to time of observation in a panelized national forest inventory. Forest Ecology and Management. 596: 123082. 10 p. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123082.