Timber clearing is a component of forest management and conversion of forestland to other uses (e.g., agriculture, development, energy infrastructure, etc.). In 2019 FEMC performed an analysis of the rate, extent, and timing of timber clearing in the state of New Hampshire. Such analyses are integral to understanding patterns of silviculture and forest conversion, and can provide additional information about the provision of ecosystem services in forests, wildlife movement, and more. In 2024 and 2025, FEMC is updating and expanding this analysis to the entire region for multiple annual timesteps using satellite data available through Google Earth Engine.
Outputs from this project will include:
- A report summarizing the methods and findings of the forest clearing analysis
- Forest clearing data available on the FEMC data archive
- Outreach programs such as webinars to describe the findings of the analysis to land managers and stakeholders in the Northeast
The outlined products can inform managers’ understandings of the patterns of forest clearing across the region and how their own area(s) of interest compare, and can provide input data for analyses of ecosystem services, silvicultural practices, and more.