• Address:
  705 Spear Street
  South Burlington, Vermont 05403
  United States of America
  
  Phone: (802) 391-4135
  Email: femc@uvm.edu
  Website: www.uvm.edu/femc

The Vermont State Continuous Forest Inventory is a data collection program with a comprehensive measure of tree health, growth, and decay within Vermont state lands. It serves as a baseline data set for a variety of tree growth, landscape models, and climate predictive models. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to use this data.

• Label: DBH_(in)

• Label: Distance(ft)

• Label: Ht_to_LC_(ft)

• Label: Location

• Storage Type: text

• Measurment Type: nominal

• Label: Notes

• Description: Observer notes

• Storage Type: text

• Measurment Type: nominal
• Standard Unit: -1
• String Format: DD/MM/YYYY
• Number Type: -1

• Label: Status

• Description: Status of tree, eg. living or dead

• Storage Type: int

• Measurment Type: nominal
• Standard Unit: -1
• String Format: DD/MM/YYYY
• Number Type: -1

• Label: Strata

• Description: Strata tree occupies in canopy

• Storage Type: text

• Measurment Type: nominal
• Standard Unit: -1
• String Format: DD/MM/YYYY
• Number Type: -1

• Label: Total_Ht_(ft)

• Label: Tree_Id

• Label: Plot

• Description: Plot identification number

• Storage Type: int

• Measurment Type: nominal
• Standard Unit: -1
• String Format: DD/MM/YYYY
• Number Type: -1

• Label: Year

• Description: Year data was collected

• Storage Type: datetime

• Measurment Type: datetime
• Standard Unit: -1
• String Format: YYYY
• Number Type: -1

• Label: Tree ID

• Description: Tree identification number

• Storage Type: int

• Measurment Type: nominal
• Standard Unit: -1
• String Format: DD/MM/YYYY
• Number Type: -1

• Label: Sector

• Description: Plot sector (Ten 36 degree sectors/plot)

• Storage Type: int

• Measurment Type: nominal
• Standard Unit: -1
• String Format: DD/MM/YYYY
• Number Type: -1

• Label: Species

• Description: Species of tree

• Storage Type: text

• Measurment Type: nominal
• Standard Unit: -1
• String Format: DD/MM/YYYY
• Number Type: -1

• Custom List: SpeciesCodes
• Code: AB
• Definition: Fagus grandifolia
• Code: AE
• Definition: Ulmus americana
• Code: BA
• Definition: Fraxinus nigra
• Code: BC
• Definition: Prunus serotina
• Code: BE
• Definition: Acer negundo
• Code: BF
• Definition: Abies balsamea
• Code: BP
• Definition: Populus balsamifera
• Code: BS
• Definition: Picea mariana
• Code: BT
• Definition: Populus grandidentata
• Code: BW
• Definition: Tilia americana
• Code: EH
• Definition: Tsuga canadensis
• Code: GA
• Definition: Fraxinus pennsylvanica
• Code: GB
• Definition: Betula populifolia
• Code: HH
• Definition: Ostrya virginiana
• Code: MM
• Definition: Acer spicatum
• Code: PB
• Definition: Betula papyrifera
• Code: PR
• Definition: Prunus pensylvanica
• Code: PY
• Definition: Populus deltoides
• Code: QA
• Definition: Populus tremuloides
• Code: RM
• Definition: Acer rubrum
• Code: RO
• Definition: Quercus rubra
• Code: RP
• Definition: Pinus resinosa
• Code: RS
• Definition: Picea rubens
• Code: SE
• Definition: Amelanchier
• Code: SM
• Definition: Acer saccharum
• Code: ST
• Definition: Acer pensylvanicum
• Code: SV
• Definition: Acer saccharinum
• Code: TA
• Definition: Larix laricina
• Code: WA
• Definition: Fraxinus americana
• Code: WC
• Definition: Thuja occidentalis
• Code: WP
• Definition: Pinus strobus
• Code: WS
• Definition: Picea glauca
• Code: YB
• Definition: Betula alleghaniensis
• Code: Code
• Definition: Meaning

• Label: Azimuth

• Description: Azimuth from plot center to tree

• Storage Type: int

• Measurment Type: interval
• Standard Unit: degree
• Precision: 1
• String Format: DD/MM/YYYY
• Unit: degree
• Number Type: rational
• Bounds:
• Minimum: 0
• Maximum: 360

• Label: Distance (feet)

• Description: Distance from plot center to pith of tree

• Storage Type: decimal

• Measurment Type: ratio
• Standard Unit: foot
• Precision: 0.1
• String Format: DD/MM/YYYY
• Unit: foot
• Number Type: rational
• Bounds:
• Minimum: 0
• Maximum: 52.7

• Label: DBH (inches)

• Description: Diameter at breast height (4.5 feet)

• Storage Type: -1

• Measurment Type: ratio
• Standard Unit: -1
• Number Type: rational
• Bounds:
• Minimum: 4.5
• Maximum: 1000

• Label: Ht to LC (feet)

• Description: Height to live crown in feet

• Storage Type: decimal

• Measurment Type: ratio
• Standard Unit: foot
• Precision: 0.1
• String Format: DD/MM/YYYY
• Unit: foot
• Number Type: rational

• Label: Total Height (feet)

• Description: Total height of tree measured in feet

• Storage Type: decimal

• Measurment Type: ratio
• Standard Unit: foot
• Precision: 0.1
• String Format: DD/MM/YYYY
• Unit: foot
• Number Type: rational

• Overstory Plot: 52.7’ radius
  • Method Description: Within the 1/5ac overstory plot every tree that is >=4.5” DBH is counted, species recorded, azimuth from plot center taken and distance from plot center to the pith is measured. Diameter at breast height, which is defined as 4.5’, is measured as well as the height to live crown, total height, strata (dominant (D), co-dominant (C), intermediate (I), or overtopped (O)), and the status of the tree is defined. The Status of a tree refers to whether the tree is living (1), dead brash failure (5), dead standing (6), or dead uprooted (7). If the tree is classified as a class 6 or 7 the height measurements and crown class are not recorded. After all the measurements are taken for the tree a bark scribe is used to the inner bark to make a line (2” long, ½” high) facing plot center on the tree at 4.5’. The paint pen is used to paint this line. On trees with very thin bark (ie. birch spp., smooth beech) the line at 4.5’ is not scribed and only painted with the paint pen.
  Instrumentation: Hypsometer (Haglof Vertex IV), 100’ steel logger’s diameter tape, 100’ fiber glass ground tape, compass, bark scribe, blue paint pen, PVC pipe, orange, blue, and pink flagging, data collection sheets, pencils, Garmin gps

• Plot Location
  • Method Description: Plots are randomly distributed within the study area and stratified by natural community type at a density of approximately 1 per 200ac

• Plot Design
  • Method Description: These are all nested plots. Plot center is marked with PVC pipe painted fluorescent orange. At the plot there are three main plots nested around the center stake. The overstory plot is 52.7’ in radius, the large sapling plot is 26.3’ in radius and the small sapling is 16.6’ in radius. To organize the data each plot is divided into 10, 36 degree sectors. At each plot the sectors are flagged out with a blue flag at 16.6’, an orange flag at 26.3’ and a pink flag at 52.7’. At each cardinal direction there are seedling plots located 26.3’ from plot center. At each of the seedling plots an orange painted PVC pipe is at plot center. From plot center a 100’ transect is established at a random azimuth and a PVC pipe is located at the end of the transect. Along this transect course woody material is measured from 0’-100’ and fine woody material is measured from 80’-100’.

• Overstory Plot: 52.7’ radius
• Sampling Description: Within the 1/5ac overstory plot every tree that is >=4.5” DBH is counted, species recorded, azimuth from plot center taken and distance from plot center to the pith is measured. Diameter at breast height, which is defined as 4.5’, is measured as well as the height to live crown, total height, strata (dominant (D), co-dominant (C), intermediate (I), or overtopped (O)), and the status of the tree is defined. The Status of a tree refers to whether the tree is living (1), dead brash failure (5), dead standing (6), or dead uprooted (7). If the tree is classified as a class 6 or 7 the height measurements and crown class are not recorded. After all the measurements are taken for the tree a bark scribe is used to the inner bark to make a line (2” long, ½” high) facing plot center on the tree at 4.5’. The paint pen is used to paint this line. On trees with very thin bark (ie. birch spp., smooth beech) the line at 4.5’ is not scribed and only painted with the paint pen.
• Frequency: Each plot will be remeasured on a 7-year rotation following the original measurement protocols.

• Tools
• Sampling Description: Hypsometer (Haglof Vertex IV), 100’ steel logger’s diameter tape, 100’ fiber glass ground tape, compass, bark scribe, blue paint pen, PVC pipe, orange, blue, and pink flagging, data collection sheets, pencils, Garmin gps