Introduction to the FIA Down Woody Materials Indicator 1st of 3 Part Training Series Christopher Woodall DWM National Indicator Advisor

Outline Indicator Updates What are Down Woody Materials? Why Collect DWM data? Sampling Design Theory

Indicator Updates No sample protocol changes Field manual updated in 2004 Web-site updated DWM sample design and analysis in press – NC-GTR-256 Web-based dissemination of data and wider use of data

Definition of DWM Dead material within forests in various stages of decay such as fallen trees, branches, and leaf litter The FIA program places numerous forest ecosystem components into the DWM Indicator

DWM Components Coarse Woody Debris Duff Slash Shrubs/ Herbs Fine Woody Debris Litter

Coarse and Fine Woody Debris Transect DiameterClass Name inchesSmall FWD inchesMedium FWD inchesLarge FWD inchesCWD

Fuel-Hour Classes Transect Diameter Class NameHour-Class inches Small FWD1-hour inches Medium FWD10-hour inches Large FWD100-hour inchesCWD1000+-hour

Duff and Litter “unrecognizable plant parts” “dead plant material on forest floor surface”

Slash/Residue Piles Piles of CWD

Shrub and Herbs “Live and dead shrubs/herbs including grass, herbaceous woody plants, and vines”

Fuelbed “Depth of the fuel’s complex, from forest floor to the tallest fuel component”

Why collect DWM data? Indicator of Forest Health Wildlife Habitat Fuels Estimation Carbon Estimation Completes Life Cycle of Trees

Indicator of Forest Health Soils Crown Condition Down Woody Materials Ozone Injury Lichens Vegetation Structure and Diversity Tree Damage

Wildlife The DWM Inventory describes the amount and condition of wildlife habitat through estimation of coarse woody debris attributes.

Wildlife Mean estimates of CWD volumes for forests of the North Central Region

Wildlife Proportions of coarse woody debris pieces per acre by transect diameter (A) and decay class (B) (1=least decayed, 5=most decayed), Indiana,

Fuels 1-hr 10-hr 100-hr Total Fine Woody Debris

Fire Science Estimates for DWM in Boundary Waters Canoe Area Compared to rest of region

Carbon Estimation Estimates of Regional Carbon Pools for Coarse Woody Debris Estimates for International Treaties and Criterion Indicators

DWM and National Inventory Completes inventory of trees from living, to dead, to decomposed Microplot Sapling Sub-plot Tree Sub-plot Standing Dead DWM Down and Dead

Summary of DWM Components

DWM Sampling Theory DWM diversity requires a diversity of sampling methods DWM Component Sampling Design CWD, FWDTransect Duff, Litter, Fuelbed Simple Random Sampling at Specified Points in Sub-plot Shrubs and Herbs Micro-plot Slash PilesSub-plot

Sampling on the Sub-Plot N Microplot Subplot Slash Piles Similar to sampling phase two trees, if a center of a slash pile coincides with a subplot it is considered an “in” slash pile

Sampling on the Sub-Plot FIA Subplot “out” slash pile “in” slash pile Slash piles are sampled across all four subplots

Sampling on the Microplot 6.8 ft Radius In order to estimate shrub/herb heights and coverage for forests (fuel ladders) estimate shrub/herb heights and coverage occurring on micro-plot

Depth Estimates on Subplot Duff Litter Fuelbed In order to estimate depth of duff, litter, and the fuelbed on a subplot… 12 sample points located for measurement on subplots

Depth Estimates on Subplots Sample Locations

Transect Sampling FWD and CWD pieces are not all counted within a given area rather… All FWD and CWD pieces that intersect a sampling plane are tallied

Transect Sampling Probability of match stick intersecting randomly placed line related to number of sticks and length of line

Transect Sampling Planes DWM Sample Protocol establishes 6 foot tall sampling transects that radiate from FIA subplot centers to intersect fine woody pieces

CWD and FWD Transects Use 3 transects established on each subplot to sample CWD, one transect on each subplot to sample FWD

Bringing it all Together

Conclusions The DWM indicator estimates numerous ecosystem components Data Crucial to Fire, Carbon, and Wildlife Sciences Integral Part of National FIA Program, Completes Tree Life Cycle Series of different sampling techniques for estimation of various DWM components applied to phase two plots