Implementation of Forest Inventory Throughout Interior Alaska

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1 US Forest Service & State of Alaska Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Implementation of Forest Inventory Throughout Interior Alaska State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry Interior FIA Project Coordinator: Matthew Stevens Resource Monitoring & Assessment/Forest Inventory & Analysis Pacific Northwest Research Station Anchorage, Alaska Data Collection Team Leader: Brendt Mueller

2 Interior Alaska FIA Increasing interest in the boreal forest and Interior Alaska (climate change, carbon, fire, permafrost, etc.) As of 2010 the FIA program had been established on all lands with potential forest, in all 50 states Exception was Interior Alaska. approximately 15% of the US forestland 2014 Farm Bill, revised the FIA Strategic Plan to include inventory and analysis of interior Alaska

3 Interior Alaska FIA How much forest land is there, and how is it changing? Climate change, permafrost, fire, carbon, drought, insects What is the biomass, carbon, and forest resources for local communities? Species, size class, volume, productivity What is the composition of plants and the quality of wildlife habitat? Wildlife potential, subsistence for local communities Are the forested lands of interior Alaska a net carbon source or sink? Growth, mortality, land cover, organic soils, permafrost

4 Interior Alaska FIA Interior Alaska divided into six sample units based on watersheds 1/5 sample intensity = one plot every 30,000 acres Combination of field plots with Interior specific protocol in conjunction with airborne, remote sensing technology Once fully funded/implemented the goal would be to sample all six units over years and then begin remeasurement!

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6 What is G-LiHT? G-LiHT is a portable, airborne imaging system that simultaneously maps the composition, structure, and function of terrestrial ecosystems using: Scanning/Profiling LiDAR 1) Lidar to provide 3D information about the spatial distribution of canopy elements; 2) imaging spectroscopy to discern species composition and variations in biophysical variables (e.g., photosynthetic pigments, nutrient and water content); and 3) thermal measurements to quantify surface temperatures and detect heat and moisture stress. 4) Digital single lens reflex camera (experimental) 5) Web Map of biomass in Tanana Valley Unit Courtesy: Bruce Cook (NASA-GSFC)

7 2014 Tanana Inventory Pilot: Supplemental Plot Measurements Second microplot Additional tree core samples Ground layer sampling of nonvascular plants Soils/Depth to seasonal permafrost Measured Non-forested conditions High-accuracy GPS coordinates Airborne G-LiHT measurements Understory vegetation Down woody material transects

8 Soil sampling protocol Measure depth of thaw (permafrost or seasonal frost) 3 Soil Samples per Plot Measure thickness and collect sample of each organic horizon and sample top 4 inches of mineral soil. Soil analysis in lab (C, N, bulk density, etc.)

9 Ground layer sampling Developed by Sarah Jovan (PNW-RMA Corvallis FSL), Rob Smith (OSU) and others Objectives: Aim to capture information on nonvascular ground cover key indicators of interior AK ecosystem conditions Estimate biomass, C and N content among terrestrial bryophytes and lichens Non-vascular plants sampled at 32 microquads (8 per subplot)

10 Functional groups: moss/lichen mats influence forests Forage lichens N-fixing lichens Crust lichens Fruticose lichens Feather moss N-fixing moss Turf moss Sphagnum moss Functional group = a collection of species with similar effect traits Functional consequences = forest nutrients, carbon storage, soil processes, hydrology, wildlife forage, 10

11 High-accuracy GPS Accurate plot locations are critical for matching high-res remote sensing & field data In 2-phase sampling designs, error in plot locations directly influences the precision of parameter estimates Dual-frequency GPS+GLONASS receivers can acquire coordinates with < 1 m error in all boreal forest conditions

12 2016 Field Season January of 2106 funding approval Begin 3 year ramp up strategy Pre-field, field and post-field work Targeted PI Project Update field manual Create and test PDR and field data collection Develop contracts Safety training and plans

13 Training

14 Training

15 Aviation

16 Aviation

17 Field work 198 plots completed No reportable injuries 1 bear and 1 wolf encounter 1 quicksand adventure

18 2017 and beyond. Continue with 3 year ramp up strategy Goal of approximately 250 plots in 2017 Denali National Park, challenging access/wilderness/helicopter permitting Push for multi year land access permits Adaptable in case of fire (plots, contracts) Continue to develop safety protocol unique to Interior operations

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20 2017 and beyond. General Technical Report from pilot study being reviewed Continue JVA with UAF for processing soil cores Continue JVA with UAA for processing tree cores Continue JVA with AK-DOF for continued field support and development Agreement with NASA, upgrade G-LiHT instrument, Susitna Copper scheduled to be flown in 2018

21 2017 and beyond. Expand public relations for the project Continue developing agreements/mou s for access to plots (NPS, BLM, USFWS) Connecting the dots. many projects going on in the Interior that complement each other and provide opportunities to network and share data Carbon estimates, permafrost, soils, ground cover, G-LiHT, LANDFIRE, etc. Quality Assurance Plan and Certification of State crews Manual and protocol refinement Streamline/accelerate change proposal process for Interior (tree species/forest types, boreal insects/damages, etc.) Data processing, management, NIMS, FIADB (pilot data, supplemental data, 28TB G-LiHT), ready to analyze/publish results after Tanana is finished in 2019? Many people will want the data, are we ready to lead?

22 It s all about partnerships! USFS PNW - Overall coordination, planning, field protocol development quality assurance and data management AK Dept. of Forestry - Planning, logistical, contracting, data collection and field support Univ. of Alaska- Fairbanks (UAF)- Planning, field protocol development, data collection and soils processing University of Alaska-Anchorage (UAA)-tree core processing USF&WS Full support/leadership in Alaska working together with FIA, MOU s NASA-Goddard - Remote sensing data acquisition (G-LiHT) and collaborative analysis

23 More information Inventorying Alaska s Forests: An Opportunity for Integrating Interagency Needs with FIA Check out presentations from the Interior Alaska FIA Client meeting at the URL below: O:\RD\PNW\Science\RMA\DCAnchorage\Project\Interior\Field_Docs\2016\Interior Photos