An Overview of the Forest
Inventory and Analysis Program
The FIA program collects strategic
(state or multi-county level)
data on the:
Status
Trends
Resource conditions including
forest health
Note: This is for ALL forest lands in a
consistent fashion across the U.S.
Legislative Perspective
McSweeney-McNary Act of 1928
Forest and Rangeland Renewable
Resources Planning Act of 1978
1988 Forest Ecosystem and
Atmospheric Pollution Research Act
The Farm Bill (Agricultural Research
Extension and Education Reform Act)
of 1998
Current FIA Mission
Current, comprehensive inventories and
analyses of all US Forests (i.e. all ownerships).
Annual forest inventories in all States.
National core program that includes
additional data beyond the core which are
used to address specific regional/local needs.
Standardized plot layout and sampling grid.
QA programs to verify data quality and verify
accuracy of our estimates.
Conduct inventories with State and Federal
partners. Establish information needs and
cooperatively implement inventories.
A New Plot Design…
Comparison Previous Plot Layout
with Current Plot Layout
Overlay Plot
Layout
Subplots 1- 4
Distance between centers 120 feet
Azimuth 1-2 =360 degrees
Azimuth 1-3 =360 degrees
Azimuth 1-4 =360 degrees
Radius
Subplot – 24.0 feet
Microplot – 6.8 feet
103
2
110
104
102
Subplot 101-105
Subplots 101-103
105
109
1
4
108
106
107
3
From
subplot
center
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
66' to
subplot
center
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
Azimuth
0o
0o
120o
180o
180o
240o
300o
0o
0o
Terminology as a Result of
Annual Inventories
Cycle – a sequential number assigned
to a set of plots, measured over a
particular period of time from which a
state estimate using all possible plots is
obtained. Relevant for periodic and
annual.
Subcycle – a number incremented
from 1 to n where n is the number of
years it takes to complete a Cycle.
Relevant for annual only.
Panel – FIA plots are assigned to 1 of 5
Panels in order to spatially and
temporally distribute plot
measurements.
The Three Phases of the FIA Program
Phase 3
Subset of P2,
with additional
Variables: soil, ozone, etc
Phase 2
Field data collection:
tree species, height, diameter, land use, etc
Phase 1
Forest area estimates ~ based on photo interpretation
*Highest sampling intensity
One out of every 16 Forest Inventory
Plots is also a Forest Health Plot (Phase 3)
Ozone
Soils
Down Woody Material
Crown Condition and Health
Lichens
Understory Vegetation
Structure and Diversity
Inventory Relationships
FIA National Base
Strategic level
State inventories
Local
Inventories
for
management
Operational level
Resolution
Spatial, semantic and temporal.
Invasive Species
A regional measurement
Additional Components of
FIA
Timber Product
Output Surveys
National
Woodland Owner
Survey
Tropical Island
Survey
Utilization
Studies
Comparison of the Past and
Present
Previous
Current
Timberland Inventory
Forestland Inventory
Timber Information
Forest and Forest Health
Information
Aerial photography w/field
visits
Remote Sensing w/field
visits
Regional
National
Periodic
Annual
Internet links:
National database available at:
 http://www.ncrs2.fs.fed.us/4801/FIADB/
Information specific to Southern states:
 http://srsfia2.fs.fed.us/
Electronic copy of publications available at:
 http://www.srs.fs.fed.us/pubs/
National FIA web site:
 http://fia.fs.fed.us/
Plans for Mississippi
Planning to work cooperatively with
MIFI for Phase 2 and Phase 3 data
collection in MS.
Current budget projections for FY06
should allow for MS implementation.
The remaining question – Remeasure
the old variable radius plot?
Current Grid for Mississippi

Phase 2

Phase 3
Plots under the old grid and the
new annual scheme
Annual Inventory
Re-Measure
4643
New
581
Total
5224*
Total
5370
Dropped
727
1994 Survey
Difference between Surveys
*348 of these are Phase 3 Plots
146
Remeasuring old plots and
installing new plots
Advantages:
Some estimates of
growth, removal,
and mortality
Linkage with
previous plot data
although limited
Disadvantages:
Crews need to
understand 2 plot
designs
Re-locating plot
installed 12-16
years ago
Maintain current
PDR program and
hardware for 5-7
more years
Maintain current
processing system
for 5-8 more years
Explaining growth,
removals, and
mortality results
may be difficult
Only installing the new plots
(no remeasurement)
Advantages:
Quicker and
simpler
Crews only have
to establish new
plots plus don’t
have to relocate
old plots
Can use National
PDR and data
processing
programs
Disadvantages:
Possibly no
growth, removal,
and mortality
information for 8
more years
Discussions and/or
Questions?