Development of a Vegetation Classification System for the Northern Region Doug Berglund
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Transcript of Development of a Vegetation Classification System for the Northern Region Doug Berglund
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