FOREST
INVENTORY &
ANALYSIS
Pacific Northwest Research Station
F
I
A
United States
Department of
Agriculture
Pacific Northwest
Research Station
Forest Service
Forest Inventory
& Analysis
Mission
To collect, compile, summarize, and make
available high-quality and comprehensive
forest inventory data and to provide
interpretations of and produce research
findings from that data.
Staff
Susan Willits, Program Manager
(swillits@fs.fed.us)
FIA TEAMS IN PORTLAND (Oregon,
Washington, California, Hawaii, and
Pacific Islands)
Environmental Analysis and Research:
Jeremy Fried, Team Leader
(jsfried@fs.fed.us)
Inventory Reporting and Mapping:
Sally Campbell, Team Leader
(scampbell01@fs.fed.us)
Data Collection:
Bob Rhoads, Team Leader
(brhoads@fs.fed.us)
Information Management:
George Breazeale, Team Leader
(gbreazeale@fs.fed.us)
FIA TEAMS IN ANCHORAGE (Alaska)
Research and Analysis:
Bill van Hees, Team Leader
(bvanhees@fs.fed.us)
Data Collection:
Ray Koleser, Team Leader
(rkoleser@fs.fed.us)
Forest Inventory
and Analysis
The Pacific Northwest Research Station’s Forest
Inventory and Analysis (PNW-FIA) program is part
of a national inventory effort within the research
branch of the USDA Forest Service.
Five FIA programs across the country conduct
forest inventories in all 50 states and the Pacific
Islands.
Research Stations
with FIA programs
Pacific
Northwest
Rocky
Mountain
North
Central
Northeast
Southern
Every 5 years, an extensive analysis of the
Nation’s resources is completed by combining
inventory data from all FIA programs in the United
States. Land area, live and dead tree volume,
and aboveground biomass are some of the topics
addressed in the analysis and summary report.
Here in the West, PNW-FIA conducts resource
inventories in the forests of Alaska, California,
Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, and the Pacific
Islands. These inventories collect detailed
measurements on many ecosystem attributes.
Inventory data are analyzed to assess current
conditions, evaluate how forests have changed
over time, and predict future conditions.
We also use GIS and remote sensing techniques to produce a wide variety of map
products for display, analysis, and research. ■
PNW-FIA’s Role
The PNW-FIA program has inventoried the Pacific Coast States since
the 1930s. The initial focus was to
estimate the extent, volume, and
condition of live trees as a source
of marketable timber available for
harvest.
Over the years, our mission has
expanded to address the information needed by our diverse
customers. Today, PNW-FIA
samples all land ownerships and
collects data on live and dead
trees, understory vegetation, down woody material, lichens, and damage caused by factors such
as insects, diseases, and ozone.
Resource managers, scientists, and investors
are some of the people who use our inventory
data. Although timber is still important, we now
have the data to assess the condition of wildlife
habitats, plant diversity, fuels and potential
fire hazard, mortality caused by insects or
disease, biomass, carbon storage, forest health,
and general characteristics of western forest
ecosystems. ■
FIA Inventory Design
Three Sampling Phases
Nationally, FIA collects a common set of data by
using techniques and methods that are consistent across the country. This core data set can
be enhanced at the regional, state, or local level
to address special interests and projects.
The national core program consists of three
phases:
Phase 1 uses remote sensing imagery or aerial
photography to classify land as forest or nonforest and to identify landscape patterns such
as fragmentation or urbanization.
Phase 2 consists of permanently established
field plots distributed across each state at a
sample intensity of about one plot per 6,000
acres. In the West, one-tenth of these plots are
sampled each year and a full inventory cycle is
completed in a decade. Phase 2 plots consist of
a cluster of four subplots spread out over about
2.5 acres. The majority of FIA data is collected
on these plots.
Phase 3 is designed to assess forest health by
sampling a subset of Phase 2 plots. Plots are
visited only during the growing season, and the
entire Phase 3 inventory cycle is completed in
5 years. Examples of data collected in Phase 3
include extent of ozone injury, lichen diversity,
soil attributes, down woody material, and the
identification and extent of all plant species. ■
Example of how aerial photography
can be used to detect
land use change over time
A 1976 aerial photo showing land on the forest-urban
interface. A PNW-FIA field plot is located in the
forested area, providing data about the status of
forest resources at this location.
A 1994 aerial photo: same location as above. The plot
has been surrounded by the expanding urban area.
FIA summarizes shifts in land use and ownership by
using Phase 1 and Phase 2 data.
Products
Information collected by PNW-FIA is available to
the public in a variety of formats:
• Databases and documentation
• Publications
• Customized data summaries
• Special analyses
• Fact sheets on inventory and research
topics
• Presentations
• Posters
• GIS maps and spatial data
• Web site
Recent Publications
Summary Estimates of Forest Resources on
Unreserved Lands of the Stikine Inventory
Unit, Tongass National Forest, Southeast Alaska,
1998
Western Juniper in Eastern Oregon
Monitoring for Ozone Injury in West Coast
(Oregon, Washington, and California) Forests
in 1998
Coarse Woody Debris in Oak Woodlands of
California
Land Use Change on Nonfederal Land in
Western Oregon
Forests of Western Oregon: an Overview
Timber Resource Statistics for Western Oregon
Sampling Coarse Woody Debris for Multiple
Attributes in Extensive Resource Inventories
Landowner
Information
Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) field plots
are located on forested lands throughout the
Pacific Coast States and Pacific Islands. We
sample all land ownerships, not just land managed by the Forest Service.
For example, we have plots on land owned by
state and county governments, Bureau of Land
Management, National Park Service, forest
industry, Native American tribes, and a variety
of private individuals such as farmers and small
woodlot owners.
We sample all types of forests, from productive
timberlands to the less productive lands such
as juniper, oak woodland, and high-elevation
subalpine forests.
We request permission from all landowners to
access their property and rely on their cooperation to help make our inventory a success. The
locations of all inventory plots are confidential.
The data we collect will not be identified in any
way with the owner’s name or property, and will
not affect the owner’s property taxes. We are
legally bound by law not to disclose this information to regulatory agencies or the general public.
This law is the Food Security Act (PL 99-198),
which provides guidelines on the release of data
in such a manner that the individual supplying
the data (the landowner) cannot be identified.
This law provides criminal penalties for anyone
failing to protect landowner privacy.
However, FIA data without landowner identity
are available in three basic forms. The first is
a publicly available online database at http:
//fia.fs.fed.us that ensures owner privacy by
masking data by county/county group without
compromising the utility of the data for analysis
work. The second is for the internal use of FIA
researchers to analyze and report the findings
as mandated in the Renewable Resources
Planning Act (PL 95-307). The third is access by
“agents” of the FIA program or users that are
designated by FIA to assist in implementing the
program mission. Agents or other partners are
required to sign a nondisclosure document that
requires they will not release any plot location or
ownership information.
The FIA dataset is widely recognized as the
preeminent, nationally consistent, unbiased
measure of forest land conditions in the United
States. Measures of forest productivity and
standing inventory across all land ownerships
are critical to evaluating the long-term supply
of forest resources, as well as the health of the
Nation’s forests. Estimates of forest conditions
on nonindustrial private lands (private lands not
owned by forest products companies) are often
overlooked, and thus, it is vital that we sample
those lands during our forest inventories. The
data we collect on the plot on your land will contribute greatly to the overall database.
This information is summarized in a variety of
PNW-FIA publications that are available through
our Web site (www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fia) or by contacting Otha Terry (oterry@fs.fed.us or 503-8082044). Summaries of the data from individual
plots can also be provided to the landowner. ■
Contact Information
To request data, publications, or other
information:
Otha Terry, Technical Information Specialist:
503-808-2044
oterry@fs.fed.us
Address of the FIA office in Portland:
PNW Research Station
620 SW Main, Suite 400
P.O. Box 3890
Portland, OR 97208
Address of the FIA office in Anchorage:
PNW Research Station
3301 C Street, Suite 200
Anchorage, AK 99503
Please visit our Web site for more information:
www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fia
For information about the national FIA program,
please visit the national Web site:
www.fia.fs.fed.us
States in which
PNW-FIA conducts
resource inventories
The policy of the United States Department of Agriculture
Forest Service prohibits discrimination on the basis of race,
color, national origin, age, religion, sex, disability, familial
status, or political affiliation. Persons believing they have
been discriminated against in any Forest Service related
activity should write to: Chief, Forest Service, USDA, P.O.
Box 96090, Washington, DC 20090-6090.
Photo credit—All photographs by USDA Forest Service.