Bethany K. Schulz

Emeritus Scientist
Resource Monitoring and Assessment
161 E 1st Ave. Door #8
Door 8
Anchorage, AK 99501-1639
United States
Door 8
Anchorage, AK 99501-1639
United States
Current Research
As a Research Ecologist with the national Forest Inventory and Analysis program, I am interested in the relationships between vegetation classification and mapping, and how ground-based inventory measurements can inform the development of these products. As forest inventory data are also used by the National Greenhouse Gas Inventiory, I am involved with projects to determine minimal measurements to allow us to estimate biomass of over-looked components of both forest and non-forest vegetation.
Past Research
My past research has explored a range of topics including management of forest pests in urban settings, pesticide fate in Alaska soils, forest plant community change following distrubance, and assessing wildfire fuel characteristics.
Research Interest
- Sampling techniques capturing essential elements of plant communities in an efficient, repeatable manner
- Factors influencing species' distribution
- Carbon accounting for large woody plants, (i.e., tall shrubs)
- Development of meaningful vegetation classification
- Shifts in successional trends influenced by a changing climate
Why This Research Is Important
The ability to quantify the attributes of plant communities allows us to assess change over time and predict how plant communities and ecosystem function may change in response to either discrete or chronic disturbances. Predicting how palnt communities may change over time can help land managers and residents anticipate how resource availabliity may shift in the future.
Education
- University of Alaska, M.S., Natural Resource Management, 1993
Professional Experience
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Ecologist,
Forest Health Protection, R-10 State and Private Forestry,
1994 -
2001
Studied and reported changing forest conditions in respose to biotic and abiotic forces, including the largest out break of spruce beetles in North America in the 1990s.
Awards & Recognition
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Certificate of Appreciation, 2011
For excellence in producing novel and policy relevant reserach in plant ecology, and for developing tools and applications that promote the PNW-RMA program and the national FIA Vegtation Indicator
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Certificate of Appreciation, 2011
Safety Awareness Award. 4/2011. Support of Station Safety Program, for input to the Stinging and Biting Insect power point presentation.
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Certificate of Appreciation, 2011
2/2011.Support of Station Safety Program and organizing Safety Scavenger Hunt at AFSL
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Certificate of Appreciation, 2009
For outstanding effort and unswerving determination in leading the publication of a national guide for sampling and estimation of vegetation diversity and structure in the United States.
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Multicultural Organization Award, 2007
PNWRS. In recognition of extraordinary efforts moving toward and in support of a multicultural organization.
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Extra Effort Award, 2006
Outstanding and professional support and development of the National FIA P3 Vegetation Indicator
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Director’s Award for FIA Excellence for FY 2005 , 2005
Outstanding effort in organizing and delivering Phase 3 forest health indicator training
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Certificate of Merit , 2004
Continued professional coordination of P3 Vegetation Indicator data collection, editing, and preliminary analysis
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Director’s Award for FIA Excellence for FY 2003 , 2003
leadership as National Vegetation Indicator Advisor
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Certificate of Appreciation 3/01, USDA APHIS, 2001
role in gypsy moth trapping for many years
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Service Award, 2000
facilitation of work chunk planning for Chugach NF Resource Group
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Certificate of Merit, 1999
participation on ECOMAP team
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Service Award, 1993
completing Forest Health Accomplishment Report, new format
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Service Award, 1993
aid in electronic formatting and editing of first S&PF newsletter
Featured Publications
- Simkin, Samuel M.; Allen, Edith B.; Bowman, William D.; Clark, Christopher M.; Belnap, Jayne; Brooks, Matthew L.; Cade, Brian S.; Collins, Scott L.; Geiser, Linda H.; Gilliam, Frank S.; Jovan, Sarah E.; Pardo, Linda H.; Schulz, Bethany K.; Stevens, Carly J.; Suding, Katharine N.; Throop, Heather L.; Waller, Donald M.. 2016. Conditional vulnerability of plant diversity to atmospheric nitrogen deposition across the United States
- Heath, Linda S.; Anderson, Sarah M.; Emery, Marla R.; Hicke, Jeffrey A.; Littell, Jeremy; Lucier, Alan; Masek, Jeffrey G.; Peterson, David L.; Pouyat, Richard; Potter, Kevin M.; Robertson, Guy; Sperry, Jinelle; Bytnerowicz, Andrzej; Jovan, Sarah; Mockrin, Miranda H.; Musselman, Robert; Schulz, Bethany K.; Smith, Robert J.; Stewart, Susan I.. 2015. Indicators of climate impacts for forests: recommendations for the US National Climate Assessment indicators system
- Russell, Matthew B.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Schulz, Bethany K.; Woodall, Christopher W.; Domke, Grant M.; Bradford, John B.. 2014. Quantifying understorey vegetation in the US Lake States: a proposed framework to inform regional forest carbon stocks
- Schulz, Bethany K.; Gray, Andrew N.. 2013. The new flora of the northeastern USA: quantifying introduced plant species occupancy in forest ecosystems
- Woodall, Christopher William; Amacher, Michael C.; Bechtold, William A.; Coulston, John W.; Jovan, Sarah, Dr.; Perry, Charles H.; Randolph, KaDonna C.; Schulz, Beth K.; Smith, Gretchen C.; Will-Wolf, Susan. 2011. Status and future of the forest health indicators program of the USA
- Woodall, Christopher W.; Conkling, Barbara L.; Amacher, Michael C.; Coulston, John W.; Jovan, Sarah, Dr.; Perry, Charles H.; Schulz, Beth; Smith, Gretchen C.; Will Wolf, Susan. 2010. The Forest Inventory and Analysis Database Version 4.0: Database Description and Users Manual for Phase 3
- Schulz, Bethany K.; Bechtold, William A.; Zarnoch, Stanley J.. 2009. Sampling and estimation procedures for the vegetation diversity and structure indicator
Other Publications
- Dial, Roman J.; Schulz, Bethany ; Lewis‐Clark, Eric ; Martin, Kaili ; Andersen, Hans‐Erik. 2021. Using fractal self similarity to increase precision of shrub biomass estimates
- Wurtz, Tricia L.; Schulz, Bethany K.. 2021. Regional Summaries: Alaska Region
- Alonzo, Michael ; Dial, Roman J.; Schulz, Bethany K.; Andersen, Hans-Erik ; Lewis-Clark, Eric ; Cook, Bruce D.; Morton, Douglas C.. 2020. Mapping tall shrub biomass in Alaska at landscape scale using structure-from-motion photogrammetry and lidar
- Clark, Christopher M.; Simkin, Samuel M.; Allen, Edith B.; Bowman, William D.; Belnap, Jayne ; Brooks, Matthew L.; Collins, Scott L.; Geiser, Linda H.; Gilliam, Frank S.; Jovan, Sarah E.; Pardo, Linda H.; Schulz, Bethany K.; Stevens, Carly J.; Suding, Katharine N.; Throop, Heather L.; Waller, Donald M.. 2019. Potential vulnerability of 348 herbaceous species to atmospheric deposition of nitrogen and sulfur in the United States
- Pattison, Robert ; Andersen, Hans-Erik ; Gray, Andrew ; Schulz, Bethany ; Smith, Robert J.; Jovan, Sarah. 2018. Forests of the Tanana Valley State Forest and Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska: results of the 2014 pilot inventory
- Schulz, Beth. 2011. Vegetation diversity
- Schulz, Bethany. 2015. Characterizing forest vegetation of the Tanana Valley: what can forest inventory and analysis deliver
- Schulz, Beth; Moser, W. Keith; Olson, Cassandra; Johnson, Katherine. 2013. Regional distribution of introduced plant species in the forests of the Northeastern United States
- DeMeo, Thomas E.; Manning, Mary M.; Rowland, Mary M.; Vojta, Christina D.; McKelvey, Kevin S.; Brewer, C. Kenneth; Kennedy, Rebecca S.H.; Maus, Paul A.; Schulz, Bethany; Westfall, James A.; Mersmann, Timothy J.. 2013. Chapter 4. Monitoring vegetation composition and structure as habitat attributes
- Schulz, Bethany K.; Dobelbower, Kevin. 2012. FIADB vegetation diversity and structure indicator (VEG)
- Schulz, Bethany K.; Moser, W. Keith. 2012. Distribution and occupancy of introduced species: a baseline inventory from Phase 3 plots across the country
- Schulz, Bethany; Oswalt, Sonja; Moser, W. Keith. 2009. Vegetation inventory data: How much is enough
- Moser, W. Keith; Hansen, Mark H.; Nelson, Mark D.; Crocker, Susan J.; Perry, Charles H.; Schulz, Bethany; Woodall, Christopher W.. 2007. After the blowdown: a resource assessment of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, 1999-2003
- Lundquist, J.E.; Zogas, K.F.; Snyder, C.L.; Schulz, B.K.. 2008. Alaska biological control program directed at amber-marked birch leaf miner.
Research Highlights

Mapping "Shrubification" in Alaska with High-Resolution Remote Sensing
Year: 2020
Climate change has caused “shrubification,” or increased shrub cover and size, across arctic and boreal ecosystems. Shrubification can have broad impacts on the ecosystem, so consistent information about the spatial variability and structure of shrub vegetation is needed to support managers and deci...

Introduced Plant Species Found on Two-thirds of Forest Inventory Plots in the Northeast and Midwest United States
Year: 2013
Scientists found 305 introduced species recorded, with multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) being the most common species.