Abstract
The assessment of species composition in most forest inventory analysis relies solely on standing live tree information characterized by current forest type. With the implementation of the third phase of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis program, the species composition of down dead trees, otherwise termed coarse woody debris (CWD), is now available to inventory analysts. To evaluate the possible contribution of CWD inventory data to forest ecosystem assessments, the species compositions of standing live and down dead trees for FIA plots across north-central States were compared within the context of forest inventory analysis. Results indicate that CWD species composition data may refine understanding of past tree mortality patterns in the context of stand development and species composition shifts. Further, CWD species composition data provide analysts with an additional categorical unit for inventory reports. Although use of CWD species composition data may be limited by measurement error and sparse sampling intensity, such data complement standing live tree data for a range of inventory analysis procedures.
Parent Publication
Citation
Woodall, Christopher W.; Nagel, Linda. 2005. Species Composition of Down Dead and Standing Live Trees: Implications for Forest Inventory Analysis. In: Proceedings of the fifth annual forest inventory and analysis symposium; 2003 November 18-20; New Orleans, LA. Gen. Tech. Rep. WO-69. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 222p.