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Project ID: 10-1-02-13

Year: 2010

Date Started: 06/01/2010

Ending Date:  09/30/2013

Title: Characterizing Crown Biomass and Crown Density Profiles in Conifer Forests of the Interior Northwest

Project Proposal Abstract: The increasing application of fuels reduction treatments and the potential for biomass harvesting have sharpened the need for accurate crown biomass models for coniferous forests in the western USA. The proposed project will provide a circumspect evaluation and comprehensive advancement of crown fuels models for the most ubiquitous conifer species in the interior northwest. Additionally, for the same species, the project will statistically characterize within-crown vertical changes in fuel densities. In combination, equations for predicting crown fuel components and the vertical distribution of those fuel components will allow for estimation of canopy biomass and fuels connectivity at the stand level, both across and within distinct height strata. This project is focused on the Conifer Canopy Fuels Estimation task statement. Conifer biomass studies have traditionally suffered from small sample sizes owing to the high costs of destructive sampling of entire tree crowns. By taking advantage of randomized branch sampling (RBS) and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) strategies, the proposed project will more efficiently collect crown fuels data from a larger number of trees across the interior northwest. This is critical for the development of individual tree biomass and fuels distribution models since these efforts are focused entirely on the characterization of inter-tree variation. Assessments of existing crown biomass equations will include estimation of overall equation accuracy and the construction of tolerance intervals to guide decisions concerning equation validity. For species and crown fuel components with no adequate models, new equations will be developed to predict individual-tree foliage, live branch wood (in 1-hour, 10-hour, and 100-hour classes), and dead branch wood biomass. Assessments of existing equations and development of new equations will be based on destructive RBS surveys of individual tree crowns. This technique permits unbiased estimation of whole-crown fuel weights from a subsample of branches and thus facilitates the collection of data from a larger sample of trees. Statistical characterizations of vertical variations in individual-tree crown width and fuel density will be developed from TLS. Ground based laser scanning is ideal for measuring vertical variations in crown fuels as it permits direct estimations of both the horizontal extent of the crown and the opacity of the crown over the full height of the tree. With TLS a large collection of standing tree crowns can be rapidly imaged in the field and subsequently statistically profiled as a function of easily measured tree dimensions (e.g., diameter at breast-height, total height, crown ratio). The species of interest for the project include Pinus contorta, Pinus pondersosa, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Larix occidentalis, Abies grandis, Abies lasiocarpa, and Picea engelmannii. These species will be surveyed with RBS and TLS across National Forest System lands in eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, northern Idaho, and western Montana. Additionally, through research linkages with the Inland Northwest Growth & Yield Cooperative, the project will make use of data already collected from state, tribal, and private lands across the interior northwest.

Principal Investigator: David L. Affleck

Agency/Organization: University of Montana

Branch or Dept: Department of Forest Management

Other Project Collaborators

Type	Name	Agency/Organization	Branch or Dept
Co-Principal Investigator	John M. Goodburn	University of Montana	Department of Forest Management
Co-Principal Investigator	Lloyd Queen	University of Montana	Department of Forest Management
Co-Principal Investigator	Andrew J. Sanchez Meador	Northern Arizona University	Ecological Restoration Institute
Co-Principal Investigator	Carl A. Seielstad	University of Montana	Department of Forest Management
Federal Cooperator	Robert E. Keane	Forest Service	RMRS-Fire, Fuel & Smoke Science Program
Federal Fiscal Representative	Susan T. Major	Forest Service	RMRS-Rocky Mountain Research Station

Project Locations

Consortium

Northern Rockies

Northwest

Level	State	Agency	Unit
REGIONAL	Interior West	FS
REGIONAL	Interior West	STATE
REGIONAL	Interior West	PRIVATE

Project Deliverables

There is no final report available for this project.
There are no deliverables available for this project.

Supporting Documents

There are no supporting documents available for this project.

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