2 nd of 3 Part Training Series Christopher Woodall FIA’S DOWN WOODY MATERIALS FIELD SAMPLING PROTOCOLS

 Plot-level Variables  Transect Segmenting  Coarse Woody Debris  Fine Woody Debris  Duff and Litter  Slash Piles OUTLINE

 Since we will have a mixture of P3 plots and various P2+ sample designs in the database…we need ways to distinguish PLOT-LEVEL VARIABLES Variable: Sampling Status 0 = Not sampling DWM 1 = BASE DWM variables collected If sampling DWM…then remainder of variables tell us which sample design you used ( we autopopulate?)

PLOT-LEVEL VARIABLES Variable: Number of Subplots Value = 4 Variable: Number of Transects per Subplot Value = 2 Variable: Transect length Value = 24

 All sampling occurs on transects  P2+ should save time by not wandering off transects TRANSECTS

24 feet (h.d.) Three / subplot CWD and Slash Piles 20 ft (h.d.) FWD (small & medium) 14 ft (h.d.) 24ft (h.d.) 6 ft (h.d.) 10 ft (h.d.) FWD (large) Duff and Litter depths 24 ft. (h.d.) location, every transect Even though each subplot transect looks like one 48 foot transect, it is still considered as two 24 foot transects originating at sub-plot center

TRANSECT SEGMENTING 1) Only sample DWM components on accessible forest land 2) Must map changes in forest condition classes along transects 

TRANSECT SEGMENTING Non-Forest CC #2 10 ft Transect length must equal 24 ft, Horizontal Dist. Sub plot TCCBEGIN H DIST SLOPE % END H DIST Sample Status Forest CC #1

 Transect orientation changes by subplot…big change from P3 TRANSECT SEGMENTING Subplot 1: 90 and 270 Subplot 2: 180 and 360 Subplot 3: 135 and 315 Subplot 4: 45 and 225

 Always recorded as 1 if coarse woody debris can be measured…even 1 for non- forest since we know no DWM is there  Recorded as 0 if coarse woody debris cannot be measured due to water or snow obstruction TRANSECT SEGMENT SAMPLE STATUS

CWD DECAY CLASSES Tally Rules Depend on Decay of Individual Pieces Freshly Fallen Moderate DecayMostly Decayed

CWD DECAY CLASSES Decay ClassStructural IntegrityTexture of Rotten Portions 1 Sound, intact, freshly fallen, bark on Intact, no rot 2 Sound Mostly intact, sapwood rotting and soft, can’t pull off easily 3 Heartwood sound, supports own weight Heartwood hard, rot beginning, large cubical rot pieces, sapwood easily pulled off or missing 4 Heartwood rotten, does not support its own weight, but holds shape Heartwood soft, small cubical decay pieces, metal pin easily pushed into heartwood 5 None! Spreads out on ground, losing shape of log Wood is soft, crumbly, heavily decomposed, powdery when dry

COARSE WOODY DEBRIS DEFINITIONS Point of Intersection Transect Transect Diameter CWD Piece Axis Decay Classes  Piece >= 3” Transect Diameter  Piece >= 0.5’ Long Decay Class 5  Piece >= 5” Transect Diameter  Piece >= 0.5’ Long  Piece >= 5” Above ground-level

CWD TALLY RULES CONTINUED Only tally portion of log above ground and or above water Standing dead trees are CWD if they lean >= 45  from vertical Tally a piece each time it intersects any transect, regardless of the number of times If log split down center, treat as two separate pieces Do not tally roots

CWD FORKS AND BRANCHES Forked Pieces Each fork is tallied if it meets minimum specs Large branch Branch must meet minimum specs

CWD MEASUREMENTS Sub plotTRAN COND CLASS HOR DIST DECAY CLASSSPP TRAN DIA DIA HOLLOW LENGTH >= 3? Transect Diameter horizontal distance Decay Class Species Diameter at Hollow Length => 3ft?

SEPARATED CWD PIECES CWD Diameter If CWD piece is fractured, either across diameter or length, and crew determines it would separate if pulled by either end… Then… Tally as two separate CWD pieces

 Totally revised from old P3 methods  Now sampled along transects SLASH/RESIDUE PILES End of pile Start of pile

 Loose piles should be sampled with regular CWD transects  Only use pile protocol if safety issue or CWD protocols do not work  If pile straddles 2 conditions pick the condition closest to subplot center  Visually compact pile along transect then estimate compacted height  Just like CWD, estimate the species and decay class of the majority/plurality of pieces in pile SLASH/RESIDUE PILES

 Determine average height along transect  Move that average height down to account for density of CWD in pile  Record compacted height COMPACTED HEIGHT ESTIMATION

PILE DENSITY ESTIMATION vs Be careful with your compacted height = amount of solid wood you are saying covers the ground within a condition = a lot of dead wood in a forest

SLASH/RESIDUE PILES SubplotTransectCC HD Begin HD End Compacted Height Decay Class Spp

 Wood material less than 3 inches in diameter at point of intersection with transect up to 6 feet from the ground FINE WOODY DEBRIS

FWD SIZE CLASSES Medium FWD ( 0.25 to 0.9 inches at transect) Large FWD (1.0 to 2.9 inches at transect) Coarse woody debris (>= 3 inches at transect) Small FWD (<= 0.24 inches at transect)

FWD SAMPLE DESIGN Tallied on end of one transect on each subplot 20 ft (h.d.) 14 ft (h.d.) 24ft (h.d.) 6 ft (h.d.) 10 ft (h.d.) Large FWD: Tally pieces 1” – 2.9” Small FWD: Tally pieces < ¼ ” Medium FWD: Tally pieces >= ¼ ” –.9” Size-Class Tally Counts

 Tally FWD at the end of these transects for specific subplots FWD SAMPLE DESIGN Subplot 1: 270 Subplot 2: 360 Subplot 3: 135 Subplot 4: 225

FWD TALLY RULES Estimate FWD tally after count > 50 for diameter < 1 inch Estimate FWD tally after count > 20 for diameter >= 1 inch Make attempt to tally FWD first due to trampling Do not include litter material in counts If count exceeds 100 in any size class indicate reason why (i.e. rat’s nest, fallen tree, or residue pile) Not attached to standing tree, dead or alive Only tally FWD on top of litter layer…do not dig through litter

FWD SAMPLE STATUS  Always recorded as 1 if fine woody debris can be measured…even 1 for non- forest since we know no FWD is there  Recorded as 0 if fine woody debris cannot be measured due to water or snow obstruction

FINE WOODY DEBRIS Sub plot TransectCC Sample Status Non- sample Reason Small FWD Med. FWD Large FWD Reason High Count FWD pieces, by size class, intersecting subplot transects

 8 depth measurements on a fully forested plot with no water/snow obstructions DUFF AND LITTER

 Loose plant material (excluding woody material you already measured) on surface of forest floor that is either undecomposed or partially decomposed LITTER DEFINITION

 Layer just below litter above mineral A-horizon…dominated by dark and highly decomposed organic material where you cannot identify originally plant parts  If you are in a peat land area then duff=peat material DUFF DEFINITION

DUFF AND LITTER Mineral Soil Duff Litter CWD & FWD Subplot Measure depths at 24 ft (horizontal distance) at end of every transect. Obstructions: Rocks and logs are not considered obstructions…measure as zero. Non-sample: Water or snow cover are considered non- sampled

DUFF AND LITTER SAMPLE STATUS 0101 Duff and litter depth not sampled Duff and litter depth sampled Only water and snow considered obstacles to sampling

DUFF AND LITTER METHOD Duff and litter depth measured Litter measured and duff estimated Should allow more freedom in deep duff areas to explain what was done on the plot Both litter and duff estimated

DUFF AND LITTER SubplotTransectCC Sample Status Non- Sample Reason Duff Depth Litter Depth Method Depth of 2 organic layers above mineral soil

TOTAL DESIGN ONCE MORE

QUESTIONS? Blast from Past Part National P3 Pre-Training Ocala, FL