1. Sharon Stanton & FIA National Indicator Leads RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ENHANCED FOREST INDICATORS

2. Enhanced Forest Indicators Down Woody Material Understory Vegetation Soil nutrients and erosion Crown conditions Lichen communities Ozone damage

3. Enhanced Forest Indicators Down Woody Material (DWM) Carbon storage. Fuel loading, fire prevention. Wildlife and game habitat. Soil stabilization. Site productivity.

4. Enhanced Forest Indicators Vegetation (VEG) Understory structure and diversity. Plant type and abundance. Fuel loading. Site productivity. Wildlife forage and shelter.

5. Enhanced Forest Indicators Soil Conditions Carbon storage. Compaction and erosion potential. Chemical and physical properties. Patterns in disturbance recovery.

6. Enhanced Forest Indicators Crown Conditions Broad scale indicator of overall tree health. Amount, condition, distribution of foliage, branches, growing tips. Indicator of stress, site degradation. National / regional patterns and trends.

7. Enhanced Forest Indicators Bioindicators Lichen Communities and Ozone Injury Air quality. Climate change.

8. Enhanced Forest Indicators Stakeholders and Leaders requesting scalable, flexible, responsive indicators integrated with core program. Uncertainty requires greater flexibility while maintaining consistency.

9. Enhanced Forest Indicators STAKEHOLDER SURVEY 51 Responses 33% Forest Service; 29 % Academic; 16% State Indicator is Useful: DWM 63%VEG 85% SOILS 82%CROWNS 72% LICHENS 77%OZONE 56%

10. Enhanced Forest Indicators Scalable, flexible indicators integrated with core program Choice of Full, Moderate, Rapid assessment level Choice of sampling intensity on P2 grid (all P2 plots, 1/4 th, 1/8 th )

11. Enhanced Forest Indicators EXAMPLE - DWM PROTOCOL OPTIONS FULL = 12 transects, length, decay, diameter at intersection and ends, duff & litter at transect ends MODERATE = 8 transects, no log counts or length, no endpoint diameters RAPID = 2 transects per plot… … on however many plots you need

12. Enhanced Forest Indicators RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NATIONAL CORE MINIMUMS Based on feedback from partners, stakeholders, program managers; logistic implications for field crews and data management. Continuation or implementation on P2 plots by standard FIA field crews starting in 2016.

13. Enhanced Forest Indicators RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NATIONAL CORE MINIMUMS DWM: Reduce transects from 12 to 8. Shorter transects. No log length or end-point diameter. 1/4 th plot intensity.

14. Enhanced Forest Indicators RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NATIONAL CORE MINIMUMS VEGETATION: Not full enumeration, only dominants. Cover of 4 most abundant species by growth habit. General structure. 3/16 th intensity (seasonal limitations)

15. Enhanced Forest Indicators RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NATIONAL CORE MINIMUMS CROWN CONDITIONS: Rapid assessment. Estimates reduced from six to two: Dieback Uncompacted Live Crown Ratio 3/16 th plot intensity

16. Enhanced Forest Indicators RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NATIONAL CORE MINIMUMS SOIL CONDITIONS: Rapid assessment protocols; Forest floor & litter - one subplot. One forest floor and soil core. 1/8 th intensity (with shifting panels that reduce remeasurement intervals but allow for soil data on all P2 plots in 25 years).

17. Enhanced Forest Indicators RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NATIONAL CORE OPTIONAL LICHEN and OZONE : core optional Spatially explicit / project level, targeting special study areas of high concern. Collaborations to leverage FIA protocols and existing data.

18. Enhanced Forest Indicators Scalable, flexible indicators integrated with core program. A mix of continuity, flexibility, efficiency. Regional options. Linked to specific products, needs, and resources.