Sara A. Goeking

My work seeks to develop more spatially explicit analyses and novel applications of FIA data that will enhance our understanding of forest dynamics such as mortality, disturbance, and land use/land cover change. Current research projects include:

• Linking forest dynamics with water resources - This work combines ground-based FIA measurements with remote sensing and hydrologic data to study the effects of forest disturbance on ecohydrologic processes. Our goal is to evaluate the effects of observed and projected future forest dynamics on water availablity, both for downstream users and for forests.
• Whitebark and limber pine monitoring across the western US - This ongoing study capitalizes on the spatial and temporal representativeness of the FIA dataset to assess high-elevation 5-needle pines throughout their US ranges. Previous results indicate that the distribution of whitebark pines is far more widespread among mixed-composition stands – particularly the lodgepole pine forest type – than in pure whitebark pine stands, and that mortality has outpaced growth for both whitebark and limber pine in recent years.
• International outreach and tech transfer - In addition to my ongoing work with FIA data, I periodically serve temporary assignments with USFS International Programs and represent the US Forest Service and SilvaCarbon to the Global Forest Observations Initiative. I provide technical assistance to other countries in the areas of data quality assurance (quality assessment and quality control, or QA/QC), definition of forest monitoring objectives, field data collection, and analysis/reporting.
• Riparian forests - This collaboration involves multiple stakeholders who are developing recommendations for restoration of riparian forests in Utah. The results of the collaboration will be published as a guide for land owners and managers who want to implement riparian forest restoration projects.

I am interested in all things geospatial, because nearly all ecological and hydrological processes vary spatially across the landscape. I apply modelling and remote sensing tools to expand the utility of our rich forest inventory dataset to multiple forest values, such as water resources, with a focus on disturbance effects on hydrology in the semi-arid Western US.

Forest managers, stakeholders, and the general public rely on good science to provide high-quality data on the condition and trends in forests across all lands, and FIA provides that information. The spatial and temporal intensity of FIA's plots allow us to provide forest information that is statistically robust and representative at the landscape level. A tremendous strength of the FIA dataset is the size and spatial representativeness of the sample, with about 90,000 plots - roughly 35,000 of which are forested - in the Interior West states. As an FIA analyst, I strive to continually develop innovative analyses that are useful to land managers and other scientists. FIA functions as the nation's forest census by collecting mountains of data, and FIA analysts need to paint those mountains of data as an information landscape that can be easily seen and interpreted by our customers.