1. Adapting the US Forest Inventory and Analysis program to Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands Challenges and Lessons Learned Thomas J. Brandeis USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station

2. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 FIA, Challenges and Lessons Learned What is FIA? – History Challenges and Lessons – Sampling design – Data collection – Coordination and Logistics – Data processing Big picture

3. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 National FIA Mission Statement “To improve the understanding and management of our Nation’s forests by maintaining a comprehensive inventory of the status and trends of the country’s diverse forest ecosystems, their use, and their health.”

4. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 What does FIA do? Answer these questions - How much forest exists and where is it? What type of forest is it and what does it hold? How is the forest’s health? Who owns it? How is it changing?

5. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 What doesn’t FIA do? Not used as a basis for taxation records Plot locations are not shared with any other government agency

6. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Who wants the FIA survey information? Land use planners Urban planners Decision makers from local and provincial governments Forest resource managers Environmental action groups Businesses that use resources from the forest General public

7. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 How does FIA provide these answers? Forest inventories – resource bulletins – public data access Timber product output studies – TPO publications Forest health monitoring – resource bulletins – special publications

8. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 FIA’s goals in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands Implement forest surveys tailored to the island’s unique tropical forests Establish a forest health monitoring network Sponsor R&D into improving island forest inventory and monitoring Get information about the islands’ forests to the public

9. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 History of Caribbean FIA work Puerto Rico surveyed 1980 and 1990 by FIA with IITF assistance – Well planned and executed, but limited scope – Resource bulletins and publications Intensifications in Toro Negro, Las Marias watershed Planned on 1990 USVI, but never implemented Forest inventory of St. Vincent

10. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Previous Caribbean FIA Objectives and Strategies “Assess the timber-production potential of the island’s forest resources” Limited to potentially “productive” forest land “Traditional” forest inventory data collected Analysis focused on: – Island-wide forest area trends – Forest composition and BA distribution – Timber volume

11. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Setting in 2000 New national system – 5 year cycle – Include forest health – All forests PR and the USVIs FIA (Knoxville) and IITF (San Juan) PRCF partner

12. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Challenges – Sampling Design

13. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Challenge - Sampling Design Systematic sampling Adapting old grid to new grid Loss of old plots unavoidable Larger, more diverse sample area Needed flexibility to expand, intensify Statistically solid and unbiased Panels, how much each year?

14. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 FIA in the Caribbean Isla Mona Puerto Rico Vieques Culebra St. Croix St. Thomas St. John

15. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 1980-1990 Forest Inventory

16. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Hexagonal Sampling Grid, 1-X

17. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Hexagon Centers, 1-X

18. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Singling Hexagons

19. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Puerto Rico FIA plots

20. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Supplemental inventories San Juan Bay Estuary Watershed Urban Forest Inventory – 109 points Northern Karst Belt – 94 points 44 forested 26 non-forested Non-access, 10 hazard, 13 camping, 1 denied Under-represented forest types – Dry, mature – Serpentine – Montane

21. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 PR Supplemental Inventory plots

22. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 USVI and outlying PR island plots

23. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Caribbean FIA Timeline Mainland Puerto Rico (2001-2003) – All forest health monitoring plots done in 2001 – Even-numbered forest inventory plots in 2002 – Odd-numbered P2 plots in 2003 US Virgin Islands and outlying Puerto Rican islands (2004) – All plots on St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John – All plots on Vieques and Culebra

24. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Lessons Learned: Design Systematic grid has worked well Loss of old plots painful, but unavoidable Intensification seems to be working for our needs

25. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Challenges – Implementation

26. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Challenge: Data Collection Will the FIA national plot design work in the tropics? What to monitor in forest health? All new species and forest type codes All in metric

27. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 FIA Plot Layout Subplot 7.3 m (24.0 ft) radius Microplot 2.1 m (6.8 ft) radius Annular plot 17.9 m (58.9 ft) radius Vegetation plot 1.0 m 2 area Soil sampling area27.4 m (90 ft) from subplot #1 DWD transect 18.3 m (60.0 ft) transects #1 # 2 # 3 #4 36.5 m (120 ft) between subplot centers Azimuth #1-#2: 360 ° Azimuth #1-#3: 120 ° Azimuth #1-#4: 240 ° Microplots 3.6 m (12 ft) from subplot centers at 90° azimuth DWD transects at 30 °, 150 ° and 270 ° azimuths

28. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Challenge - Data Collection Plot data – location mapped – physiography, condition classes Subplot data – Trees with DBH > 12.5 cm – locations mapped – DBH, height and damage – crown class and ratio Microplot data – Saplings DBH < 2.5 cm – Seedlings with height > 30 cm identified and counted

29. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Challenge - Data Collection Forest Health Down woody debris and fuels Soil measurements and sampling Crown condition classification Vegetation structure and diversity pilot

30. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Lesson Learned - Data Collection Plot design has worked well – Difficult in very steep terrain Forest health monitoring appears successful New coding has been difficult to organize – Species list and synonyms – Physiographic codes not performing well – Forest types still obsolete

31. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Lesson Learned - Data Collection Where and When – Work in mountains or karst first during dry season – Work in dry south coast during rainier season Get your GPS straight from the start

32. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Challenge - Coordination and Logistics Hire 2-5 field technicians on 6-month contracts and one data entry technician Work with 2-3 SRS timber cruisers part of each year Work on intensification plots the rest of year SRS training and supervision SRS data compilation, analysis and reporting

33. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Challenge - Coordination and Logistics Vehicles Accommodations and budget Communications (cell phones) Responding to problems Getting data and samples back to office Pay and travel coordination Public relations

34. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Lessons Learned - Coordination and Logistics Mixed crews only a short-term fix Field crew from one location best Supervision from Knoxville okay so far, Office people must understand field working conditions

35. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Lessons Learned: Coordination and Logistics Dedicated vehicles with maintenance plan Very clear work and travel rules Cell phones for everyone Public relations efforts paid off

36. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Challenges – Data Processing

37. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Challenges - Data Processing Normally done differently by FIA Data handling and entry (paper or electrons?) Editing (logic and error checks) Compilation Final products, questions, answers All must be thought out beforehand

38. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Lessons Learned - Data Processing Don’t underestimate this part! Key to future sustainability Consider PDR, but not necessary Skilled personnel in office Early decisions have large impact later on Have it all sorted out before measuring a single tree

39. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Big picture Long term commitments Institutional memory Regional cooperation and international compatibility Complement other efforts – gain detail otherwise lacking – gain scaling up to landscape level Collaborations

40. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Thank you – Muchas Gracias

41. Regional FRA Meeting 1/28/05 Contact information Thomas J. Brandeis Research Forester Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service 4700 Old Kingston Pike Knoxville, TN 37919 (865) 862-2030, (865) 862-0262 fax tjbrandeis@fs.fed.us