Title: Soil Quality as an Indicator of Forest Health: an Overview and Initial Results from the USFS Forest Inventory and Analysis Soil Indicator Program

Author: O'Neill, Katherine; Amacher, Michael; Palmer, Craig; Conkling, Barbara; Liknes, Greg C.

Year: 2003

Publication: In: Proceedings, Society of American Foresters 2002 National Convention; Winston Salem, NC. SAF Publishing.03-01. Bethesda, MD: Society of American Foresters: 347-349

Abstract: The Montreal Process was formed in 1994 to develop an internationally agreed upon set of criteria and indicators for the conservation and sustainable management of temperate and boreal forests. In response to this effort, the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) and Forest Health Monitonhg (FHM) programs implemented a national soil monitoring program to address specific questions related to: (1) the current status of soil resources and (2) the contribution of forest soils to the global carbon cycle. As the first and only nationally consistent effort to monitor forest soil quality in the United States, this program provides critical baseline information on the current status of the soil resource and the potential effects of natural and human disturbance on forest health and productivity. This poster provides an overview of the FIA/FHM soil indicator program and summarizes initial results with respect to the criteria and indicators outlined in the Montreal Process.