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Sharon Stanton & FIA National Indicator Leads
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ENHANCED
FOREST INDICATORS
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s Down Woody Material
Understory Vegetation
Soil nutrients and erosion
Crown conditions Lichen communities Ozone damage
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sDown Woody Material (DWM)
Carbon storage.Fuel loading, fire prevention.Wildlife and game habitat.Soil stabilization.Site productivity.
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sVegetation (VEG)
Understory structure and diversity.Plant type and abundance.Fuel loading.Site productivity.Wildlife forage and shelter.
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sSoil Conditions
Carbon storage.Compaction and erosion potential.Chemical and physical properties.Patterns in disturbance recovery.
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sCrown Conditions
Broad scale indicator of overall tree health.Amount, condition, distribution of foliage,
branches, growing tips.Indicator of stress, site degradation.National / regional patterns and trends.
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sBioindicators
Lichen Communities and Ozone Injury
Air quality.Climate change.
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s Stakeholders and Leaders requesting scalable, flexible, responsive indicators
integrated with core program.
Uncertainty requires greater flexibility while maintaining consistency.
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sSTAKEHOLDER SURVEY51 Responses 33% Forest Service; 29 % Academic; 16% State
Indicator is Useful:DWM 63% VEG 85%SOILS 82% CROWNS 72%LICHENS 77% OZONE 56%
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sScalable, flexible indicators
integrated with core program
Choice of Full, Moderate, Rapid assessment level
Choice of sampling intensity on P2 grid(all P2 plots, 1/4th, 1/8th)
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sEXAMPLE - DWM PROTOCOL OPTIONS
FULL = 12 transects, length, decay, diameter at intersection and ends, duff & litter at transect ends
MODERATE = 8 transects, no log counts or length, no endpoint diameters
RAPID = 2 transects per plot…
… on however many plots you need
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sRECOMMENDATIONS FOR NATIONAL CORE MINIMUMS
Based on feedback from partners, stakeholders, program managers; logistic implications for field crews and data management.
Continuation or implementation on P2 plots by standard FIA field crews starting in 2016.
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sRECOMMENDATIONS FOR NATIONAL CORE MINIMUMS
DWM:Reduce transects from 12 to 8. Shorter transects.No log length or end-point diameter.
1/4th plot intensity.
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sRECOMMENDATIONS FOR NATIONAL CORE MINIMUMS
VEGETATION:Not full enumeration, only dominants.Cover of 4 most abundant species by
growth habit.General structure.
3/16th intensity (seasonal limitations)
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sRECOMMENDATIONS FOR NATIONAL CORE MINIMUMS
CROWN CONDITIONS:Rapid assessment.Estimates reduced from six to two:
DiebackUncompacted Live Crown Ratio
3/16th plot intensity
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sRECOMMENDATIONS FOR NATIONAL CORE MINIMUMS
SOIL CONDITIONS:Rapid assessment protocols;
Forest floor & litter - one subplot. One forest floor and soil core.
1/8th intensity (with shifting panels that reduce remeasurement intervals but allow for soil data on all P2 plots in 25 years).
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sRECOMMENDATIONS FOR NATIONAL CORE OPTIONAL
LICHEN and OZONE: core optional
Spatially explicit / project level, targeting special study areas of high concern.
Collaborations to leverage FIA protocols and existing data.
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s Scalable, flexible indicatorsintegrated with core program.
A mix of continuity, flexibility, efficiency.Regional options.
Linked to specific products, needs, and resources.
