Development of a Vegetation Classification System for the

Northern Region

Doug Berglund

Renee Lundberg

Renate Bush

Vegetation Analysis Support Needs: Broad & Mid-level Vegetation Analysis Support Needs: Broad & Mid-level

• Northern Region Overview• Integrated Restoration and Protection Strategy• Forest plan revision and amendments• Ecosystem Assessment at the Watershed Scale • Post-fire assessments• Forest-wide cumulative effects analysis

Ultimately all of this is to support project planning and informed decision making

Litigation Fees Paid ’03 and ‘04Litigation Fees Paid ’03 and ‘04

Classification

MappingInventory

Analysis Components : Building BlocksAnalysis Components : Building Blocks

Vegetation classification, mapping, and inventoryVegetation classification, mapping, and inventory

Integration of these related processes to communicate information.

Vegetation classification What is it?

Vegetation mapping Where is it?

Vegetation inventory How much is there?

Mapping Inventory

Classification

Map Feature Design

Tabular Inventory

Compilation

Supply LabelsSupply Labels

Technology & resource limitedSupply plot data

SpatialInventory

Compilation

Spatially associate plotsGeneralize map units

Estimate abundance

Vegetation classification, mapping, and inventoryVegetation classification, mapping, and inventory

Guiding PrinciplesGuiding Principles

Guiding PrinciplesGuiding Principles

FGDC National Vegetation Classification:

applicable over extensive areas

repeatable

consistent [between map and inventory]

mutual exclusive and exhaustive categories

hierarchical , aggregatable

based on dominant or uppermost stratum

mappable

Guiding PrinciplesGuiding Principles

Existing Vegetation Classification and Mapping Technical Guide

Canopy Cover Dominance Type Size Vertical Structure

Guiding PrinciplesGuiding Principles

Practical - useful to those “practitioners”.

Simple, easy to understand – line officers

Can make calls in the field with minimal data

Applicable to current data collection attributes

R1-Veg CouncilR1-Veg Council

Veg Council Classification Builds on lessons learned from previous mapping

efforts R1 Silviculturists, Fire Ecologists, Wildlife Biologists

and RMRS Scientists Field workshop: Bitterroot, Lolo, IPNF

R1-Veg CouncilR1-Veg Council

R1-Veg CouncilR1-Veg Council

Field Data from FVS .kcpField Data from FVS .kcp

R1-Veg Council Classification R1-Veg Council Classification

Veg Council Classification Evaluated different classifiers,

expecting to choose 1: Describe, FVS, others

Consensus of expert opinion None of the classifiers had the “right”

answers Developed new algorithms

Tree Dominance TypesTree Dominance Types

Elemental DominanceElemental Dominance

# each species individually is > 20% of attribute

A. Single most abundant species > 60% of attribute * ……… List single species

A. Single most abundant species < 60% of attribute…..……. Go to B

B. 2 most abundant species > 80% of attribute #………………List 2 species

B. 2 most abundant species < 80% of attribute #……....……. Go to C

C. 3 most abundant species > 80% of attribute #……………….List 3 species

C. 3 most abundant species < 80% of attribute #……..……….Go to D

D. Shade intolerant species attribute > shade tolerant species attribute….......IMIX

D. Shade intolerant species attribute < shade tolerant species attribute…......TMIX

*attribute = BA, if basal area > 20 ft2; otherwise TPA, if trees per acre > 100; if BA <20 and TPA < 100 TPA, classify as “none”.

Elemental DominanceElemental Dominance

847 elemental dominance types: requires aggregation into dominance “groups” for broad- and mid-level analysis

SizeclassSizeclass

SizeclassSizeclass

2 Common Methods

• BA-Weighted Average DBH = Sum (DBH x BA) / Total BA • QMD = square root (sum of DBH2 / total trees) or diameter of tree of average BA

SizeclassSizeclass

SizeclassSizeclass

NTG Classes seedling 0.1 – 4.9 5.0 – 9.9 10.0 – 14.9 15.0 – 19.9 20.0 – 24.9 25.0 +

Traditional Classes seedling 0.1 – 0.9 1.0 – 4.9 5.0 – 8.9 9.0 – 13.9 14.0 – 20.9 21.0 +

Often requires collapsing into fewer classes for broad- and mid-level analysis

BA-weighted Average DBH classed as follows:

Canopy CoverCanopy Cover

Canopy CoverCanopy Cover

Definitions: Canopy cover is the proportion of the forest

floor covered by the vertical projection of the tree crowns.

Canopy closure is the proportion of the sky hemisphere obscured by vegetation when viewed from a single point.

Canopy CoverCanopy Cover

Canopy CoverCanopy Cover

Use: Increasingly used attribute Wildlife models Fire behavior models

Mapping: Substitute attribute for basal area in Dominance and Size classification.

FVS-model: Need to collect more field data – EM Variant Need to validate models

Canopy CoverCanopy Cover

Often requires collapsing into fewer classes for broad- and mid-level analysisOften requires collapsing into fewer classes for broad- and mid-level analysis

Canopy cover classed as follows:

Vertical StructureVertical Structure

Vertical StructureVertical Structure

Based on proportion of total basal area in the following sizeclasses.

There are 5 possible vertical structure classes: 1 = single story, 2 = two-story, 3 = three-story, C = continuous, none = insufficient ba/tpa found on the plot/stand.

Initially, every plot/stand is classified as having 1 layer of vertical structure.

Vertical StructureVertical Structure

Vertical StructureVertical Structure

Vertical StructureVertical Structure

Vertical StructureVertical Structure

Vertical StructureVertical Structure

Stand Classifier ToolStand Classifier Tool

Runs on any FVS tree list data Consistent way to compare over time

Stand Classifier ToolStand Classifier Tool

Input FVS treelist

Stand Classifier ToolStand Classifier Tool

Stand Classifier Tool: Multiple Setting OutputStand Classifier Tool: Multiple Setting Output

Stand Classifier Tool: Multiple Cycle OutputStand Classifier Tool: Multiple Cycle Output

For more informationFor more information

Region One, Forest and Rangeland Management Staff, Inventory website:

http://fsweb.r1.fs.fed.us/forest/inv/classify/index.htm