Forest Inventory and Analysis National Program

Program Features

Background

Basic Forest Inventory:

Phase 1 is a remote sensing phase aimed at classifying the land into forest and non-forest and taking spatial measurements such as fragmentation, urbanization, and distance variables. This phase has historically been done using aerial photography, but is changing to a system based on satellite imagery.

Phase 2 consists of a set of field sample locations distributed across the landscape with approximately one sample location (FIA plot) every 6,000 acres. Forested sample locations are visited by field crews who collect a variety of forest ecosystem data. Non forest locations are also visited as necessary to quantify rates of land use change.

Forest Health Indicators:

Phase 3 consists of a subset of the phase two plots (approximately 1 every 96,000 acres) which are visited during the growing season in order to collect an extended suite of ecological data including full vegetation inventory, tree and crown condition, soil data, lichen diversity, coarse woody debris, and ozone damage.

Timber Products Output Studies:

FIA conducts Timber Products Output (TPO) studies to estimate industrial and non-industrial uses of roundwood in a state. To estimate industrial uses of roundwood, all primary wood-using mills in a state are canvassed periodically.

National Woodland Owner Survey:

The National Woodland Owner Survey helps us understand who owns the woodlands of the United States; why these individuals and groups own woodlands; and what is the future of these lands.

National assessment (Resources Planning Act):
FIA currently provides updates of assessment data every five years as required by the Agriculture Research, Extension and Education Reform Act of 1998 (Farm Bill).

Additional information is available in the FIA Online Library.