THE AUTHORS 



JOHN C. BYRNE is a research forester with the Inter- 

 mountain Research Station's Forestry Sciences Labora- 

 tory in Moscow, ID. 



MICHAEL D. SWEET is a research specialist with the 

 Mission-Oriented Research Program, School of For- 

 estry, University of Montana, Missoula, MT. 



RESEARCH SUMMARY 



Data from remeasured (or permanent) forest growth 

 plots are a valuable resource to forestry organizations. 

 To fully utilize these data, systems for managing the 

 data are necessary. In 1988, a survey of forestry orga- 

 nizations was conducted to evaluate existing systems 

 for managing remeasured plot data. 



For evaluation purposes, 12 desired features of a data 

 base management system (DBMS) for remeasured plot 

 data are described, including: 



• import/export large amounts of data 



• edit data already in the data base 



• error-check data 



• store large amounts of data 



• store remeasurement data 



• safeguard the data and their integrity 



• provide for recording commonly measured plot and 

 tree characteristics 



• ability to add new data fields 



• selective retrieval of data from the data base 



• accessibility of the data base software at a 

 reasonable cost 



• adequate documentation and help facilities 



• analysis/reporting capabilities. 



A total of 36 systems were found. Each of these 36 

 systems were rated as to how close they met the 1 2 

 desired features. When features were not fully imple- 

 mented by a system, descriptions of missing elements 

 were given. This evaluation indicated that most of the 

 systems had some positive characteristics, but none 

 fully implemented all of the desired features. Additional 



DBMS features, which respondents of the survey noted 

 as desirable, are summarized. 



Information from this report can provide guidance 

 to those wishing to improve their management of 

 remeasured plot data. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



Major support for this study was provided by the U.S. 

 Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Timber Man- 

 agement Staff, based in Fort Collins, CO, through a 

 contract with the Inland Northwest Growth and Yield 

 (INGY) Cooperative. We are indebted to the Forest 

 Resources Systems Institute (FORS) for allowing us to 

 use their mailing list to obtain names and addresses of 

 individuals and organizations. We are especially thank- 

 ful for all those persons who took the time to diligently 

 fill out questionnaires and return them to us. Without 

 their input this study would not have been possible. 



CONTENTS 



Page 



Introduction 1 



Desirable System Features 1 



Survey of Existing Systems 2 



First Questionnaire 2 



Second Questionnaire 2 



Evaluation of Data Base Management Systems 2 



System for Rating DBMS Criteria 2 



Criteria for Rating DBMS Features 2 



System Ratings 5 



Results and Discussion 9 



Desirable Features 9 



Additional Features 10 



Conclusions 10 



References 10 



Appendix A — Questionnaire 1 : Data Base 

 Management Systems for Remeasured Plots .... 1 1 



Appendix B — Follow-up Questionnaire: Data Base 

 Management Systems for Remeasured Plots ....15 



Intermountain Research Station 

 324 25th Street 

 Ogden, UT 84401 



