Data-Driven Tools

FEMC is working with partners across the region to assemble and compare continuous forest inventory (CFI) monitoring and assessment programs. The goal is to identify commonalities and differences in the various datasets, document the ways in which they can be compared, and enable broad-scale analyses across states. FEMC will make available protocols, data samples, access instructions and data downloads when possible in an online data portal. With funding provided by the USDA AFRI program, we are collaborating with researchers from UVM and UMaine to combine these data in meaningful and statistically robust ways so that we can answer relevant and timely questions concerning the status of regeneration in the region.

A wealth of monitoring, inventory, and research data exists that is currently inaccessible to the broader community, ranging from data sheets stored in file cabinets to electronic files on a person’s hard drive who doesn’t have the time or resources to archive those data. In these cases, data are at risk of being lost to natural disasters and retirements. FEMC alleviated some of this risk by engaging with natural resource agencies in the region to inventory data at risk of being lost. We rescued dozens of new long-term high-value monitoring and research datasets, uploading each to the FEMC archive to be preserved in perpetuity and available to the broader community. View the full list of at-risk data or submit your own at-risk project using the Data Rescue Inventory (https://vmc.w3.uvm.edu/vmcdevel/data_rescue).

The Northeast Fragmentation Information Network (FragNet) is a clearinghouse containing a wealth of various resources about forest fragmentation - the breaking up of continuous forest cover. These resources have been collected from throughout the northeastern US to make it easier for policy makers, planners, advocates and researchers to access information on forest fragmentation. Using FragNet, you can explore resources such as journal articles, technical reports, brochures and legislation.

FEMC maintains several meteorological stations on Lake Champlain and the slopes of Mt. Mansfield. You can use this tool to view the latest data as soon as we collect it. Please note that data are not subjected to QA/QC procedures, and are provided as-is with no guarantees.

The Northeastern Forest Health Atlas (NEFHA) is a web portal for forest health data that provides information on short- and long-term changes in forest health and disturbance for researchers, managers, policy makers, and the public. The mapping platform brings together research and monitoring data on forest damage and disturbance in the Northeast. The user-interface allows for easy searching of biotic and abiotic damage agents, by state, or year, and can be viewed as a map of detections, or in a graph or table format.

The Northeastern Forest Inventory Network is designed to connect people, data and information related to forest inventory programs across the Northeast. This project aggregates data from a diverse and disconnected network of sources that can be used for novel synthesis and analysis of factors influencing forest structure, productivity and health. The research conducted with these data will provide new insights on how forests are growing and changing across the region, improve our understanding of forest demography and biometry, and inform forest management.

The Oak Resiliency Assessment Tool allows you to consider how resilient oak-dominated forest stands on your property or a property you manage are to climate change and various stressors. The tool will generate a report with the forest's vulnerability and more information regarding the major forest stressors and potential management actions. You can use this report to inform your management decisions and include it in the property's forest management plan. The assessment is designed to be used at a stand level and may work for a small property or parcel.

The Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative created the Northeast Forest Regeneration Data Network for users to access and compare projects related to tree regeneration, including studies on browse impacts, seed production, and forest management.

Building on FEMC's work on the Northeast Forest Regeneration Data Network, this project identified methods and protocols being used across the region to measure deer browse and field tested them. The final report provides a comparison of the methods with information about the feasibility, cost and and effort required to use them. This information will allow decision makers to easily find information about standard protocols in use and make informed choices about deer browse assessment methods.

The Vermont Forest Indicators Dashboard is a data-driven, ecological monitoring tool that quantifies the condition of Vermont's forested ecosystems in simple terms that offers a more holistic view of the structure, function, and services the forests provide. Current conditions and long-term trends can be compared to threshold or baseline values to help inform management and decision making to sustain this critical resource. The dashboard currently summarizes information about 34 different long-term datasets, from timber production to crown condition to regeneration trends to forest bird diversity.