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Forest Health Monitoring IT** 







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y 



Table 5-1 — Forest Health Monitoring indicators to 

 assess forest ecosystem condition 



Forest Health Monitoring 1 994 field plots in 

 California, Oregon, and Washington. 



In summer 1994, Forest Health Monitoring 

 protocols were used to sample forest conditions 

 of Douglas-fir habitats in Oregon and Wash- 

 ington, from the Cascade Range crest westward 

 to the Pacific Ocean. This work tested the ease 

 of measuring various indicators of forest health 

 in environmental conditions wetter than those 

 in California. It also familiarized state forestry 

 cooperators with field protocols they would be 

 using in their forest health monitoring work 

 and established baseline conditions for Dou- 

 glas-fir forests related to the different indica- 

 tors measured. Establishing and interpreting 

 baseline conditions (see appendix 4) is critical 

 to reviewing management options for old- 

 growth stands and adaptive management ar- 

 eas. Results from this work, hereafter called 

 the Pilot Study, are explained in the rest of this 

 chapter. Many forest health monitoring indi- 

 cators (table 5-1) have been tested for 6 years 

 in regional pilot studies across the United 

 States. The following sections define those 



Indicators 



Indicators cont. 



Growth 



Crown condition 



Leaf area 



Plant species composition 



Lichen community structure 



Bioindicator plants 



Songbird habitat 



Nitrogen index 



Regeneration 



Mortality 



Tree damage 



Soils: 



Acidification index 

 Organic carbon status 

 Disturbance recovery 

 index 



indicators measured in the Pilot Study, de- 

 scribe results from field sampling, and inter- 

 pret their significance for Northwest forests. 

 When possible. Pilot Study results are com- 

 pared to 4-year Forest Health Monitoring data 

 from about 200 plots measured in California, 

 1992 to 1995. 



GENERAL SITE AND SPECIES 

 CHARACTERISTICS 



Twenty-five plots, each about 2.47 acres, 

 were sampled in the Pilot Study — 12 in Wash- 

 ington and 13 in Oregon. Elevations ranged 

 from <30 feet to about 7,600 feet. Stand ages 

 ranged from <10 to 300 years. Oregon sites 

 were older, at higher elevations, and on steeper 

 slopes than Washington sites; aspects varied 

 across both states. Conifers were the domi- 

 nant vegetation. As expected, the predominant 

 forest type on the 25 plots was Douglas-fir 



Forest Type Percentages 



Douglas-fir 



Fir-Spruce 



Hemlock-Spruce 



Other Softwoods 



Mixed Conifers 



Percent of Total Frequency 



Monitoring — 67 



