In accordance with the 1998 Farm Bill, the Forest Inventory and Analysis unit in Knoxville, TN, has instituted annual updates of forest conditions throughout the South and in Caribbean forests of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Information from FIA, previously only available in resource bulletins published since the 1930s, is now collected in a four-disk CD.
In addition to annual inventory updates, FIA field crews, assisted by State forestry agencies, recently completed a Hurricane Katrina damage assessment of forests in Mississippi. Working with the Mississippi Forestry Commission and the Mississippi Institute for Forest Inventory, FIA analyzed initial results in the six counties that were heavily impacted and found that although many of the plots experienced some damage, the number of individual trees damaged was limited.
FIA also provides valuable information to support the South’s multimillion dollar forest industry by providing surveys of roundwood harvest and consumption. The 2005 data show that total output jumped from 8.2 to 8.7 million cubic feet and that softwood production increased by 6 percent to 6.4 billion cubic feet. The Southwide data have been published and were posted on FIA’s Web site, http://srsfia2.fs.fed.us/php/tpo2/tpo.php, in August. Reports for individual States are in press.
In April 2004, when the ivory-billed woodpecker was observed in the Big Woods region of eastern Arkansas, search teams began canvassing selected areas believed to be the most suitable habitat for this species that had been listed as extinct for several decades. The extensive data previously collected by the FIA program helped to inform the search by providing content for assessments of where the best habitat was likely to occur. This information is the basis for the point-based and probability surface maps that are being used to develop guidance for the search efforts. Plans are underway to build habitat filter models (empirical and literature based) that are tied to habitat attributes in the FIA data, such as forest type, stand age, stand-size class, basal area of live trees, damage index, tree density, and individual tree data (species code, diameter, total height, cull, damage type, decay class code).
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Initial Estimates of Hurricane Katrina’s Impacts on Mississippi Gulf Coast Forest Resources |
Data Query Tool for Invasive Plant Inventory on FIA Plots |
Timber Product Output (TPO) in the South in 2005 |
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Use of FIA Data to Identify Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Habitat |
New products in 2007 to better understand forest conditions |
Initial Estimates of Hurricane Katrina’s Impacts on Mississippi Gulf Coast Forest Resources
Hurricane Katrina pummeled the gulf coast of Mississippi in late summer, 2005. Damage assessment was an immediate priority for Federal, State, and local governments as they sought to mitigate damages to resources in the counties heavily impacted by the storm. Within months of the storm, SRS Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) field crews assisted by field staff from southern State forestry agencies initiated a re-inventory of Mississippi’s forests. The highest priority of this re-inventory was the collection of data on resource damage in affected counties in the lower part of the State. FIA worked with individuals from the Mississippi Forestry Commission, Mississippi Institute for Forest Inventory to analyze initial results of data collection in six southeastern counties that were heavily impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Researchers found that there was damage in a large proportion of plots, but that the number of individual trees damaged was limited. Overall, hardwoods suffered more damage than softwoods. The initial findings were published in a brochure, available online and in print. The document was made available to State and Federal legislators. Sonja Oswalt (soswalt@fs.fed.us)
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Data Query Tool for Invasive Plant Inventory on FIA Plots
In 2001, the SRS Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program started systematically surveying FIA plots for the presence and relative abundance of more than 25 non-native invasive plants. Because this information has been collected regionally, the data have not been publicly available through the national FIA data Web site. However, a new tool that has been made available through the SRS FIA Web site (http://srsfia2.fs.fed.us)/nonnative_invasive/Southern_Nonnative_Invasives.htm) now enables users of FIA data to access data on non-native invasive plant occurrence on forestland by county. Other details also are provided to enable knowledgeable individuals to map, model, and analyze these regional observations in combination with tree, forest condition, and plot attributes from the national FIA Web site. Potential users include the US Geological Survey’s National Biological Information Infrastructure and the National Institute of Invasive Species Science, FS Forest Health Protection and other Federal agencies, The Nature Conservancy’s NatureServe, and State and regional exotic pest plant councils. Ray Sheffield (rsheffield@fs.fed.us) and Ted Ridley (tridley@fs.fed.us)
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Timber Product Output (TPO) in the South in 2005
The South’s forest industry is a multi-billion dollar economic engine that employs hundreds of thousands of employees across the region. In most southern States, forest industry ranks in the top three manufacturers of industrial products. The southern States account for nearly 60 percent of the Nation’s total timber product output. The SRS Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) unit and the State forestry agencies across the South have completed the 2005 forest industry surveys for roundwood harvest and consumption in the southern US. The study shows that industrial TPO in the southern States jumped from 8.2 to 8.7 billion cubic feet between 2003 and 2005. Softwood product output was up 6 percent to 6.4 billion cubic feet and accounted for nearly three-quarters of total product output. In August, the 2005 TPO data was made available at the FIA website, at http://srsfia2.fs.fed.us)/php/tpo2/tpo.php. This information will be used not only by the State forestry agencies but also by forest industry analysts and economists, university personnel, and individuals interested in how the forest resource is being utilized. The annual Southern Pulpwood report for 2005 has been published. Individual State-level TPO assessments for 2005 will be published during the next FY. Tony Johnson (tjohnson09@fs.fed.us)
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Use of FIA Data to Identify Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Habitat
In April 2004, when the ivory-billed woodpecker was observed in the Big Woods region of eastern Arkansas, search teams began canvassing selected areas believed to be the most suitable habitat for this species that had been listed as extinct for several decades. The extensive data previously collected by the SRS Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program helped to inform the search by providing content for assessments of where the best habitat was likely to occur. This information is the basis for the point-based and probability surface maps that are being used to develop guidance for the search efforts. Plans are underway to build habitat filter models (empirical and literature based) that are tied to habitat attributes in the FIA data, such as forest type, stand age, stand-size class, basal area of live trees, damage index, tree density, and individual tree data (species code, diameter, total height, cull, damage type, decay class code). Ray Sheffield (rsheffield@fs.fed.us)
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