FVS Self-Paced Training

The FVS Staff of the Forest Management Service Center provides self-tutorials. Download the tutorial setup file to your computer. Run the setup files on your computer to install automatically the tutorial for your use.

Getting Started

• Forest Vegetation Simulator Tutorial (.exe, 06-08-2012, 28.0M)
  This tutorial is a self-paced introduction to the basic concepts related to growth and yield, harvesting, regeneration, thinning, fire and fuels, and FVS modeling. It identifies components of the FVS system including pre- and post-processors, and describes the Suppose interface. The tutorial includes exercises to perform a basic stand projection and to create various tables and reports.
• Regional Exercise Guide
  The Regional Exercise Guide is an excellent source for users who want to go through the regional training but are unable to attend the instructor led training. To walk yourself through the Regional Exercise Guide you will need to download the FVS Setup Program from the FVS Complete Package web page. Once you have run the setup package, navigate to the C:\FVSDATA\Regional-Training folder. In this folder you will find the Regional FVS Training Guide. It is suggested that you first go through the Forest Vegetation Simulator Tutorial prior to attempting the Regional Exercises.

Extended Topics

• Climate Exercise Guide (.exe, 03-10-2011, 673k)
  The Climate Exercise Guide walks the user through a few basic exercises to demonstrate how to run the Climate Extension of FVS.  These exercises assume you are already familiar with FVS. In addition to the FVS software, you will need to download the Climate variants of FVS. Although we did not design it as a training, there is a link to a recording of an introductory Climate-FVS webinar on the Climate-FVS page.

• Advanced Event Monitor Topics (PDF, 05-31-2012, 1.3M) - This training guide contains three sessions:

  Session 1: Creating Custom Output Variables
  This session of our Advanced Topics in Customizing Management and Output using the Event Monitor series leads you through a number of exercises for creating custom output variables from FVS as well as linked databases. The exercises have you compute stand habitat variables that are used to rate the habitat within the stand to create a habitat suitability index.

  Session 2: Scheduling Management Activities Based on Conditions
  This session of our Advanced Topics in Customizing Management and Output using the Event Monitor series leads you through a number of exercises for conditionally scheduling management activities based on random events and stand conditions.

  Session 3: Advanced Management Activities
  This session of our Advanced Topics in Customizing Management and Output using the Event Monitor series leads you through a number of exercises that show you how to use computed variables within management actions.

Other

• A History of the Forest Vegetation Simulator: 1970s to 2008 (.exe, 10-31-2008, 52.5M)
  Gary Dixon, former FVS Group Leader, chronicles the development of the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS). This Portable Electronic Presentation (PEP) provides a history, background, description, and capabilities of the FVS modeling system.

Last modified: 05-31-2012