FIA: the Alaska Perspective
A History and Status
Ray Koleser – FIA Alaska
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Alaska’s Forest Inventory and
Analysis
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Past – “Legacy” data
Present
• Coastal Annual
Special Studies
• Tanana Valley State Forest Pilot
• Experimental Forest “Intensification”
• Kenai LiDAR Study
• AIRIS remeasurement
Alaska Is Always Different
• First plots put in in the 1950s in southeast Alaska
• Interior plots were installed in the 1960s
• By 1967 Alaska had been considered inventoried (to some extent)
• Late ‘70s through the mid-‘80s Alaska used the 4 phase inventory design
in parts of the interior and SE Alaska.
• Mid-‘80s to mid-‘90s southwest Alaska and Copper River was inventoried
• Mid-‘90s Alaska Coastal Inventory starts using the current Annual plot
design but collected as a periodic inventory. (Start of the infamous
Maritime Maid!)
• 2004 FIA Alaska starts Annual Inventory on the Coastal Inventory Unit.
FIA Data in Alaska
Initial SE Coastal Inventory
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Forest Survey (pre-FIA) started in SE Coastal
Alaska between 1955–1957
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2-phase sample based on interpretation of
1:40,000 and 1:20,000 aerial photos acquired
in 1948 by U.S. Navy
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31,491 photo points — 602.28 acres each
(approx. 6,500 photos)
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716 ground samples — 6,849.4 acres each
Initial Interior Inventories
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Interior Alaska aerial photos for phase one of the initial
inventory were acquired in a sampling mode between
1958 and 1960.
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Photo scale — 1:5,000
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11,000 linear miles flown in strips 30 miles apart —
37,177 photos
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1/2 acre photo sample at the center of each photo
B&W infrared with minus-blue filter (to reduce the
film’s spectral sensitivity)
3,774 air-check plots — 355 ground plots
Original Interior Alaska Inventory
Plots originally established 1961–1963 - never remeasured
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41
3
30
1
- commercial forest land – accessible
- spruce
- sawtimber
- well stocked
- Drained level
Original
Interior
Alaska
Photo SamplePhase One
Stand height = 56 feet
Tree crown cover = 50%
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Interior
Alaska
Ground Sample
- Phase Two
Periodic Inventories
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After the “initial” inventories were completed, more
intensive “periodic” inventories were established
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Two-phase sample with photography flown
specifically for particular inventory areas
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Ground plots used the Bitterlich method (variable
radius plots) and were primarily aimed at
productive timber
“Periodic” Inventories in Alaska
Plots originally established from 1967–1980
10
Periodic
Inventories
Ground Sample
— Phase Two
11
“Special Project” Inventories
Southwest
Alaska
Inventory
Ground Sample
— Phase Two
13
Full Legacy Plot Distribution
All Vegetation Inventories
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15
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Early efforts looked at browse production
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Introduced Horizontal = Vertical Vegetation
Profile Plot During the AIRIS inventory plots
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SWAK, Kenai, Coastal Periodic Inventories
100 square meter plot at each
unique vegetation condition
Layer, Cover, Composition
collected for moss, lichens,
forbs, shrubs, and seedlings
Data combined with tree plot
data give an overall horizontal
vertical profile for the vegetation
type
5%
30 meters
7%
4%
20 meters
10 meters
3%
8%
Ground
Grid Inventory
• Mid – ‘90s goes to annual Inventory
• grid design
• standard plot footprint
• Alaska FIA early adopter of Grid and
Plot layout
• 1st Cycle: 1995 – 2003
• Periodic Inventory
Plots Established on a 3 Mile Grid
Across Southeast and South-Central Alaska
2000
2001
2002
1999
1998
2003
Full Coastal
Grid
1997
1996
1995
Original Periodic Plot Layout
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18
Fixed Radius Tree Plot
(1/24 ac)
Fixed Radius
Seedling/Sapling Plot
(1/300 ac)
Horizontal Vertical
Profile Plot (100 sq m)
Down Wood Transect at
all HV’s
Soil Pit at all points
PNW Research Station
Resource Monitoring and Assessment Forest Inventory and Analysis
Current Sampling Design for Alaska Inventory
• One panel of fairly evenly distributed plots over entire AK inventory unit
visited each season.
FIA Annual Plot Layout
Coastal Annual Accomplishments
Number of plots
• Forested – 1998
• Nonforest Vegetated – 146 (just a condition)
• Wilderness 62 forest; 21 nonforest 2010–2012)
• Hazardous – 50 (entire plot not est (all in 2005)
• P3 Plots – 130
• QA blind checks – 116
• QA hot checks – 116
Safety
• Reportable injuries – 4
• Aircraft accidents – 0
• Aircraft incidents – 3
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Total crew person hours – ~110,00 hours
Hours flown on the helicopter – 2195 hours
Number of Boat days – 595 days + 45 days of ferrying
Miles boat travelled – ~28,000 miles going north
Miles of boat travel (ferry going south) – 11,000 miles
Trees measured – 74,000
Number of plot pins – 162,000 pins
Number of reference and witness tags – 135,000 tags
Next Steps
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Current Coastal Cycle Completed
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Budget shortfalls –
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Delay in full implementation of the 2nd Annual
Cycle
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Limited Annual operations on the KNWR (summer
2014)
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Interior sampling pilot in the Tanana Valley State
Forest (summer 2014)