Forest Ecosystem Health Indicators
| Authors: | KaDonna Randolph, Randall Morin, Kerry Dooley, Mark D. D. Nelson, Sarah Jovan, Christopher W. W. Woodall, Bethany K. Schulz, Charles H. (Hobie) Perry, Cassandra Kurtz, Sonja Oswalt, William McWilliams, Rachel Riemann |
| Published: | March 30, 2020 |
| Type: | Brochure |
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA)
Program is the Nation’s continuous forest census. Since 1930, we have collected, analyzed, and
reported information on the status and trends of America’s forests: how much forest exists, where
it exists, who owns it, and how it is changing — growing, dying, being harvested, or converted to
and from forest land uses. In response to widening customer interests, the FIA developed a program
that was implemented in the same manner on all U.S. forest lands. This included sampling an
extended suite of forest health indicators. Many of these indicators were developed and initially
measured by the Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program in the 1990s. In 1999, they were transferred to FIA and now are a subset of the FIA inventory.
Originally, the health indicators were sampled on 1 of every 16 standard FIA plots, but this design
faced budget and logistical constraints. In 2012, FIA redesigned the health program as a flexible
system with spatial and temporal intensities that are adaptable to meet budgetary constraints,
client needs, and regional issues. A minimum national set of protocols are “core” to the
forest/ecosystem health indicator program. These health indicators are collected at intensities ranging from a minimum of approximately 7 percent up to 25 percent of the standard plot grid. In addition, the Vegetation Profile and Down Woody Materials indicators are sampled on all plots in the Western United States.
The FIA indicators discussed in this publication are:
- Crown Condition (KaDonna C. Randolph)
- Tree Damage (Randall S. Morin and Kerry Dooley)
- Tree Mortality and Standing Dead Trees (Randall S. Morin and Mark D. Nelson)
- Lichen Communities (Sarah Jovan) (adjunct inventory conducted by National Forest Systems in some regions; retired as a national core indicator)
- Down Woody Materials (Christopher W. Woodall)
- Vegetation Profile (Bethany K. Schulz)
- Soil Quality (Charles H. Perry)
- Nonnative Invasive Plants (Cassandra M. Kurtz and Sonja N. Oswalt)
- Regeneration and Browse Impact (William H. McWilliams)
- Fragmentation and Landscape Context (Rachel Riemann)