Agenda - Environmental Policy Board - 07/19/2021

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Title 190-Forestry Inventory Methods Technical Note • Collect information that addresses client objectives. • Suit site conditions. • Provide efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The inventory— • Is the basis for identifying, assessing, and addressing resource concerns. • Collects ancillary information needed for the forest management plan such as maps. Some inventories meet multiple needs, such as qualifying landowners for State programs, and may require specific types of information. The components of an FMP are listed in the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 2103a), Section 5(f)(1)(B), as referenced in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 3839aa), Section 2506(a)(4). An FMP "identifies and describes actions to be taken by the landowner to protect soil, water, range, aesthetic quality, recreation, timber, water, and fish and wildlife resources on such land in a manner that is compatible with the objectives of the landowner." • Criteria for the NRCS FMP are included in Title 190, National Forestry Manual (NFM), Part 536, Subpart B, Section 536.10, "Forest Management Plan Criteria." • As a general rule, FMPs should be reviewed and updated as necessary every 10 years, as recommended in the document "Understanding Your Plan: A Guide for Landowners using Managing Your Woodlands: A Template for Your Plans for the Future" (USDA NRCS, and USDA -Forest Service. 2015c (revised)). • The NRCS State conservationist may publish supplemental guidance or information on how to complete an FMP. Stand Summary Information Stand -level summaries provide information that allows foresters to describe current and potential future conditions to landowners, as an aid in setting goals for their property. Desired summaries may include stand -level information on structure by crown class and canopy stratification, average tree crown ratio, average tree growth rate, site index, diameter distribution, etc. Stand summaries are developed using various methods. Refer to State's "Resource Concern and Planning Criteria" document in the Field Office Technical Guide (FOTG), Section III, for guidance in selecting additional measurement and assessment tools. • Stand Structure. —May be described by age classes or by canopy layers, from overstory to ground vegetation. Figure 1 shows the vegetation strata often found in a forest. Crown classes include dominants, codominants, intermediate, and overtopped. • Crown Ratio. —Along with describing a stand by the different crown classes, crown ratio is a descriptive characteristic that conveys how well a tree is currently able to make use of available light for photosynthesis and how well it can be expected to respond to release. Crown ratio is simply what percentage of the total height of the tree includes live crown. An open grown tree may have nearly 100 percent crown ratio, while a suppressed tree has less than 25 percent. • Tree Growth and Site Index (Technical Note No. 190-FOR-01, Jul 2018) 3