Analysis of Annual Forest Inventory Data in ME and PA William H. McWilliams, Carol A. Alerich, Tonya W. Lister, and Randall S. Morin USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station, Forest Inventory and Analysis Show You What We Have Found Out About Penn’s Woods Examples of New Analyses For the 5-Year Report

Progress Update - Inventory Regeneration Study: 2001 Associated Vegetation Tree Seedlings Exotics Survey: New in 2003

Progress Update - Reporting Five-Year Reporting: Penn State Issues Conference, April 26-27, 2005 Comprehensive Report Annual Reporting, 2001 and 2002 Annual Reporting, 2003/4

Mega-Trends: Land-Use Change Forest Land Base is Stable

Mega-Trends: Land-Use Change Nonforest >1000 Urban area Forest Population Density Urbanization Parcelization Fragmentation

Forestland Dynamics

Parcelization

Fragmentation

Mega-Trends: Structure Distribution of Forest Land by Stand-size Class 23% 49% 28% 11% 49% 59%

Mega-Trends: Structure Number of Growing-Stock Trees Per Acre

Mega-Trends: Composition Oak is Decreasing and Red Maple is Increasing

Mega-Trends: Composition

Effects of Urbanization, Parcelization, and Fragmentation Reduce Management Options Composition and Structure are Changing Alien Pests are Here and More are on the Way Current Threats Invasive Plants are Here and Expanding Their Influence Ailanthus vs. Oak Inventory is Increasing at a Slower Rate than in the Past + 15% + 77% + 57% + 19% Advance Regeneration is Lacking and Options Are Expensive

Management and Policy Implications Financially Mature, High-Value Stands Predominate PA’s forested landscape “Timber Availability” is less than FIA Data Imply Timber Industry Will Need to Adapt to Species Like Red Maple Recreation Value is Approximately Equal to Timber Value in Many Areas Methods to Project Current Conditions into the Future Need to be Developed Better Wildlife Habitat Models Would Help Gauge Prospective Trends Stand Rehabilitation will be Needed in Disturbed stands with Poor Regeneration Sustainable Forestry on Private Lands Needs Assessed Prepare Management Strategies for Late Successional and Old Growth Stands Strategies for Invasive Plants and Pests Need Further Development

Castanea dentata Map Regional Study Examples

Frequency of Spruce Budworm Defoliation What, Where, and When of the Next Spruce/Fir Forest?

Principal Findings: The Next Generation of Spruce/Fir Forest (Where and When?) Low High Current Distribution of Saplings 3-inch Class 10 Years 2-inch Class 15 Years 1 inch Class 20 Years 4-inch Class 5 Years Next 20 Years of Ingrowth

Principal Findings: Inventory (Where?) Balsam FirEastern White Pine Paper BirchBeechNorthern Red Oak Where are the Major Species Concentrated? Red Spruce % BA/AC

Forest Health: Balsam Fir

Forest Health: American Beech

Forest Habitat Types

Forest Diversity

Late-Succession Forests

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The End

What We Can’t Tell You Now Less Than 50% of Plots Were Remeasured Old Design New Design Only Central Portion Remeasured! Only About 10% of Trees Remeasured the First Time Through We Will Remeasure More Trees This Season Than We Did in the First Five Years! Growth, Removals, and Mortality Are Not Statistically Sound, Yet

10 15 grams by eco-component Tree Carbon Per Hectare by U.S. County Carbon Stocks and Accumulation National Reporting Examples

Quercus spp. Map Distribution of Mixed-Oak Stands in the Eastern US Mixed-Oak Stands by Stand-Size Class

Nonforest >1000 Urban area Forest Population Density Urbanization

Parcelization – Private Forestland (Source National Woodland Owner Survey, 1994)

Fragmentation

Habitat Concerns?

Migrants Habitat Concerns? Forest Interior Specific Threatened Generalists

Late-Successional and Old Growth Forests Quantify Extent and Character Spatial Distribution Age / Size (After Whitman and Hagen, 2004) Mixed Oak For Major Forest Community Types (follow Fike and Jenkins)