Principle - Yield and Quality of Forest Goods are Sustainable.

Criterion- The management plan is implimented and effective in moving toward stated goals.

Indicator – Continuous inventories are established and measured regularly.

Box B: Definition:

Continuous Forest Inventory: The American continuous forest inventory system evolved from the method of control and got its start in 1934. The inventory methodology determines growth by repeated inventories of permanent sample plots. A series of periodic measurements give a complete historical record of stand growth. It provides a scientific study of individual trees and their relationship to their immediate environment. It is an excellent channel for translating research into field practice.

Definition: Continuous forest inventory is the tool of management at the forest level providing information on the result of treatment applied and the growth of the crops in order to compare the field results with predictions made from yield tables or other form of growth model.

Box D: Applicability to Different Landowners. Explain any differences:

The measurement of resource parameters adds no real value to the material or benefit being assessed. Therefore the amount expended for a given inventory task should be geared to the value of the products or services being measured. For the USFS, State, and Industrial Private owners an accurate inventory estimate of the timber resource is an essential component of responsible stewardship of the resource. Smaller non- industrial private owners often lack the expertise and/or the funds to support formal inventory programs.

Box E: Overlap:

CIFOR: 1.1.1 3.2.1.

Notes:

The organization, intensity, and precision required in a timber inventory are logically based on the planned use of information collected. Depending on the primary objectives, timber surveys may be classified as:

1. Land acquisition inventories.
2. Inventories for logging or timber sales.
3. Management plan or continuous forest inventory systems.
4. Special conditions surveys.

Formal periodic measurement systems most often apply to the tenure level.

Box I: Underlying Concepts:

Any management plan for a wild-land area implies an intent to achieve some objective, such as the production of more wood, forage, game animals, water, or recreational benefits. Periodic inventories of lands are required for tax records, for justification of management expenditures, and for determining the amount and quality of wood available for annual utilization.

Wise utilization of the resource is more likely if information on the quality, distribution, and accessibility of timber and other resource stocks is available and accurate.

CFI is done to ascertain the balance between ‘gain’ (both growth of the existing forest and of its extensions) and ‘drain’ (harvesting and forest destruction) in order to plan and control the development of the growing stock and the dependent industries.

Such inventories may be done using all permanent plots, or sometimes a combination of temporary and permanent plots. The latter is more suitable for very extensive forests where all permanent plots would be prohibitively expensive.

The type of permanent sample plot depends on the degree of variation in the crops. The main considerations are:

1. Location. The plot must be representative of the crop and easily relocated. Their location must be surveyed and marked on maps.
2. Demarcation. Circular sample plots are defined by a center point, other shapes by their corners. Trenches some 1-2 m by 0.3 m are effective in boundary and corner demarcation and last long. Trees in sample plots should not be easily distinguishable from trees outside or field staff may treat them differently. Obviously paint marks should be avoided. Sampling units may be identified using a relascope at a marked center point rather than a plot.
3. Plot size and shape. In plantations plot size depends upon the age of the crop and its tree spacing. Normally 20 trees per plot are needed to obtain a level of precision in accord with that of the variance between plots. Ideally all plots should be the same size.
4. Tree identity. All trees should be labeled individually and their positions marked on a plot chart. Numbered aluminum tags fastened with an aluminum nail are effective.
5. Calculations. The form of calculations, analysis and summary must be decided. Usually this will include the determination of any volume equations to be used.
6. Measurements. Often all trees are measured for DBH. Other additional measurements will be needed for estimating volume.
7. Checking. The previous records should be available to the field teams in order to spot and recheck inconsistent records.

These are some methods for continuous forest inventory:

• CFI using only permanent sample plot

When:

= mean of all plots on the first occasion

= mean of all plots the second occasion

= best estimate of the change between the two

measurements, i.e. =-

= estimated correlation coefficient of and

then

Consequently the closer that approaches the value of +1 the smaller is the standard error of . Normally the finite population correction factors may be ignored as the sampling fractions are very low.

• CFI using only temporary sample plot

Using the symbols

= mean of temporary sample plots on the first

measurement

= mean of temporary sample plots on the second

measurement

= best estimate of the change between the two

measurements

i.e. =-

then

, ignoring the finite population correction factor.

In the normal situation and the limits on cost, these variances are large in relation to and hence the design is correlation between measurements in permanent sample plots in reducing the standard error of the change in volume.

• CFI using both permanent and temporary sample plots

Box J: Relevance to Sustainable/Unsustainable Management:

The concept of utilizing a continuous forest inventory system provides more than growth and volume data. The inventory design provides a means of periodically assessing change in the forest so that management decisions can be adaptive in nature and consistent with continuous improvement of resource management.

The purposes of a Continuous Forest Inventory system can included:

1. Provide volumes by species, tree grades, and size classes for the different timber types considered significant.
2. Assess relative economic availability of trees and areas of varying qualities.
3. Provide growth information for the different timber types that will give a basis for calculating allowable cut.
4. Evaluate results of silvicultural practices, including planting, in terms of survival, quality, and growth of regeneration.
5. Evaluate need for timber stand improvements.
6. Provide a basis for determining areas to be planted, area of non-productive land, and ratio of mortality to cut.
7. Provide values, volumes and growth rates for depletion and other purposes in accounting for timberlands.

Box K: Measurement Methods :

Observations on the existence of forest inventory data.

Box L: Data Required:

USDA Forest Service: All national forest lands outside of designated wilderness areas are included in a continuous forest inventory system. The data is collected following procedures outlined by the regional research station and reported in a number of standard reports. The information is readily available upon request.

Non-Industrial Private: It is unlikely that this tenure group will have extensive data. The most likely data set would be a forest inventory. USDA Forest Service Research Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data plots have been established to quantify private ownership at a low level of accuracy.

Industrial: They have extensive data sets, however, these are regarded as proprietary in nature and are utilized to gain competitive advantage.

State: They have extensive data sets that are generally available to the public.

Box M: Data Used for the North American Test :

USFS data:

• Periodic forest inventories are conducted every 10 years. Inventory findings are reported and published in a series of statistical and analytical reports.
• CFI Plots
• Remeasurements 420 (2,100 points)
• New Timber Plots 143 (715 points)
• Non-forest 46 (230 points)

State Lands Data (Koski 1998):

• CFI system based on 1994, Forest Inventory Field Procedures, Specifications, and Definition, manual. The precision goal is plus or minus 10 percent at the 95% confidence level for all sawtimber types combined.
• SW Area 119 plots
• Payette Area 131 plots
• Both areas were remeasured in 1996.

Non-industrial Private Data (Chojnacky 1995):

• Lands outside National Forest boundaries are measured by Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plot system. The data is summarized for a two-phase sampling design including:
• Field plots 292
• Photo points 100,000

Industrial Data: Proprietary Information (Verified)

Inventory

• CFI 488 plots Remeasurement cycle 5 years
• Recon Plots 6,677 plots randomly distributed
• Precision goal for the inventory is, plus or minus 10% at the 90% confidence level.

Box O: Assessing the Practicality:

Inventory re-measurements are conducted as a matter of course for all major tenures in the study area. This indicator can be assessed following each re-measurement period as well as direct observation of field plot maintenance.

Box P: Assessing the Information Value :

Resource managers are not only charged with the responsibility to quantify forest stand conditions, periodic growth and mortality, they are now responsible for describing or characterizing ecosystem processes such as habitat suitability and quality, forest succession, and forest structure. Data from a well-executed continuous forest inventory system can help managers meet these challenges.

The resultant information derived from continuous forest inventory systems is very useful in the validation of individual tree or stand level growth models. This is an important monitoring process that is directly linked to the calculation of a sustainable flow of resource values.

Box Q: Overall assessment:

Accepted.

Strengths: The information provided by continuous forest inventories provides a major part of the basis for management decisions.

Inventories have been established and are being remeasured and evaluated on an ongoing basis. This will take no special effort or arrangements to conduct in the study area.

Weakness: Because continuous forest inventory plots are often permanently marked so they can be located for periodic re-measurement they can be biased. Care should be given to ensure that management activities reflect the "norm".

Box R: Did you rewrite or revise to a new indicator. If so what?

Yes. This indicator was rewritten to change the focus from inventories of the forest to a broader scale, to include inventories of all forest ammenity values.

USFS Reference Documents:

1. Contract Number 53-0261-6-22
2. The West wide Forest Inventory Database User’s Manual, 1995, S.W. Woudenberg & T.O. Farrenkopf, USDA, General Technical Report INT-GTR-317
3. Interior West Forest Land Resource Inventory Field Procedures, 1995, USDA, Intermountain Region
4. Inventory Reports; T04A, T009, T013, T011, T015, T029, T002

CIFOR References:

• Dykstra, D. and R. Heinrich. 1996. FAO Model Code of Forest Harvesting Practice. FAO. Rome.
• Dykstra, D.P. and R. Heinrich. (Ed). 1996. Forest Codes of Practice: Contributing to Environmentally Sound Forest Operations. Proceedings of an FAO/IUFRO Meeting of Expert on Forest Practices held in Feldafing, Germany on 11-14 December 1994. FAO-IUFRO. Rome.
• FAO. 1997. Research on Environmentally Sound Forest Practice to Sustain Tropical Forests. Proceedings of the FAO/IUFRO Satellite Meeting held in conjunction with the IUFRO XX World Congress. FAO. Rome.
• Husch, B., Miller, C.I., and T.W. Beers. 1993. Forest Mensuration. Krieger Publishing Company. Florida.
• Kohm, K.A. and J.F. Franklin. 1997. Creating a Forestry for the 21^st Century: The Science of Ecosystem Management. Island Press. Washington, D.C.
• Matthews, J.D. 1989. Silvicultural Systems. Clarendon Press. Oxford.
• Panayotou, T. and P.S. Ashton. 1992. Not by Timber Alone: Economics and Ecology for sustaining Tropical Forests. Island Press. Washington, D.C.
• Philip, M.S. 1994. Measuring Trees and Forest. 2^nd Edition. CAB International. Oxon.
• Prahbu, R., Colfer, C.J.P., Venkateswarlu, P., Lay, C.T., Soekmadi, R. and E. Wollenberg. 1996. Testing Criteria and Indicators for the Sustainable Management of Forests: Phase 1 Final Report. CIFOR Special Publication. CIFOR. Bogor.
• Stork, N.E., Boyle, T.J.B, Dale, V., Eeley, H., Finegan, B., Lawes, M., Manokaran, N., Prabhu, R., and J. Soberon. 1997. Criteria and Indicators for Assessing the Sustainability of Forest Management: Conservation of Biodiversity. Working Paper No. 17. CIFOR. Bogor.
• Young, R. A. and R. L. Giese. (Ed.). 1982. Introduction to Forest Science. 2nd Edition. John Willey & Sons. New York.

Please record your notes on evaluating the indicator here.