United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Environmental Monitoring
Systems Laboratory
Las Vegas, NV 89193-3478
Research and Development
EPA/620/SR-93/002 March 1994
EPA Project Summary
Environmental Monitoring and
Assessment Program: Forest
Health Monitoring 1992 Activities
Plan
Samuel A. Alexander
Forests, which cover approximately
one-third of the United States, are an
important part of the U.S. economy,
culture, and ecology. In response to
legislative mandate and concerns for
our environment, several government
agencies have been working together
to develop a program to monitor the
condition of the nation's forests. This
multi-agency program is called the For-
est Health Monitoring (FHM) program.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture
Forest Service has contributed to this
initiative under the auspices of its FHM
program. The U.S. Environmental Pro-
tection Agency has participated through
the forest component of the Environ-
mental Monitoring and Assessment Pro-
gram. Other contributing agencies
include the National Association of
State Foresters and individual state for-
estry agencies, the Tennessee Valley
Authority, the Soil Conservation Ser-
vice, the Bureau of Land Management,
the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the
National Park Service.
This report is designed to serve sev-
eral purposes for FHM. The first is to
provide a description of major FHM ac-
tivities planned for the fiscal year 1992.
These activities range from the initial
planning stages of field work to the
assessment and reporting activities.
The second is to provide background
information about the FHM program or-
ganization, the indicator development
process, and other activities within
FHM.
This Project Summary was developed
by EPA's En vlronmental Monitoring Sys-
tems Laboratory, Las Vegas, NV, to an-
nounce key findings of the research
project that is fully documented in a
separate report of the same title (see
Project Report ordering information at
back).
Introduction
Forests, which cover approximately one-
third of the United States, are an impor-
tant part of the U.S economy, culture, and
ecology. In response to legislative man-
date and concerns for our environment,
several government agencies have been
working together to develop a program to
monitor the condition of the nation's for-
ests. This multi-agency program is called
the Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) pro-
gram. The U.S. Department of Agriculture
Forest Service has contributed to this ini-
tiative under the auspices of its FHM pro-
gram. The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency has participated through the for-
est component of the Environmental Moni-
toring and Assessment Program. Other
contributing agencies include the National
Association of State Foresters and indi-
vidual state forestry agencies, the Ten-
nessee Valley Authority, the Soil
Conservation Service.lhe Bureau of Land
Management, the Fish and Wildlife Ser-
vice, and the National Park Service.
A major impetus behind the develop-
ment of this program has been increasing
concern about documented and potential
effects of air pollutants, global climate
change, and a variety of insect, disease,
and other interacting stressors on forested
ecosystems. To help address these con-
cerns, the FHM program is designed to
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assist resource managers and policy mak-
ers in managing the nation's forest re-
sources, allocating funds for research and
development, and evaluating environmen-
tal policy for forest resources.
A brief history of the FHM program and
an overview of 1992 activities are found in
Chapter 1. The following chapters present
more detailed information about specific
topics.
Procedures and Reporting
Chapter 2 describes the Detection Moni-
toring phase of FHM. Detection monitor-
ing covers all forested lands and consists
of 1} a plot component that is a network of
permanent plots and 2) a survey compo-
nent that includes aerial and other sur-
veys of forest pest and other stressor
effects coupled with reports of forest dam-
age. Together these two components
monitor and report the condition of forest
ecosystems by estimating baseline or "nor-
mal" conditions, measuring changes from
these baselines over time, and determin-
ing if changes are normal or a cause for
concern, warranting additional evaluation.
Also discussed are specific plans for
1992 that include revisiting the plots that
have been established in the 12 partici-
pating eastern states and establishing plots
In two western states. The same site con-
dition, growth, regeneration, and visual
symptoms Indicator data that were col-
lected in 1990 and 1991 will be collected
from FHM plots in 1992.
Chapter 3 presents an overview of
Evaluation Monitoring. Evaluation moni-
toring is activated by detection monitoring
results and is the process for estimating
extent, severity, and possible causes for
changes In forest health beyond that ini-
tially obtained in detection monitoring. Spe-
cific monitoring needs could include
additional surveys, site- or area-specific
evaluations, and more detailed monitor-
ing. Criteria for project design and selec-
tion are being developed by FHM.
Chapter 4 describes the Intensive Site
Ecosystem Monitoring (ISEM) phase of
FHM. The ISEM will provide high-quality,
detailed information on ecosystem pro-
cesses through long-term monitoring at a
limited number of sites representing im-
portant forest ecosystems. The ISEM plan
will be made final in 1992. Information
about the process of choosing these sites
is also included in this chapter.
Chapter 5 provides an overview of the
1992 activities in indicator development.
The two demonstration projects and one
pilot project that are being conducted are
discussed, with details given in the ap-
pendices. The Southeast Regional Dem-
onstration will be conducted in the loblolly/
shortleaf pine forest-type group of the At-
lantic coastal plain in Virginia, North Caro-
lina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The
purpose of this study is to test the re-
gional forest health assessment potential
of a broad suite of indicators across a
major forest type. Indicators that will be
evaluated include the following:
Standard mensuration measure-
ments.
Soil productivity and classification.
Wildlife habitat.
Visual crown rating.
Root disease evaluation.
Air pollution indicator plant injury.
Foliar chemistry.
Lichen communities.
Vegetation structure.
Tree damage evaluation.
Radial growth.
Tree core chemistry.
The second demonstration project will
be conducted in the portions of Virginia,
Tennessee, North Carolina, South Caro-
lina, and Georgia that comprise the South-
ern Appalachian Man and Biosphere
region, principally an oak-hickory forest.
This study will provide an opportunity to
evaluate the developmental indicators
listed above and selected research indi-
cators (such as photosynthetically active
radiation) in a second type of forest eco-
system.
The Western Pilot project will be con-
ducted in California and Colorado. A simi-
lar suite of indicators will be tested in
western forests.
In addition to field studies, other impor-
tant activities in 1992 are related to the
following:
Developing a conceptual strategy
for selecting and evaluating indica-
tors (Chapter 6).
Evaluation of indicators using a de-
fined process (Chapter 6).
Design and statistics (Chapter 7).
Assessment (Chapter 8).
Reporting (Chapter 9).
Quality assurance and quality con-
trol procedures (Chapter 10).
Logistics (Chapter 11).
Information management (Chapter
12).
Use of global positioning system
technology (Chapter 13).
Each of these overview chapters pre-
sents background information about the
FHM approach and specific information
about 1992 activities. Detailed study plans
are found in the appendices as is informa-
tion about off-frame research plans for
indicator development.
Conclusions and Recommenda-
tions
The Forest Health Monitoring 1992 Ac-
tivities Plan presents not only 1992 plans
but also appropriate background informa-
tion to provide a context for 1992 activi-
ties. All field projects are discussed along
with overall work areas such as design,
indicator development, and assessment.
The information in this document has
been funded wholly or in part by the United
States Environmental Protection Agency
to the U.S. Forest Service through Inter-
agency Agreement Number DW12934170-
5, to ManTech Envfronmental Technology,
Inc., through Contract numbers 68-DO-
0106 (RTP, NC) and 68-C8-0006
(Corvallis, OR), to Lockheed Engineering
& Sciences Company, Las Vegas, NV,
through Contract Number 68-CO-0049, to
the University of Nevada-Las Vegas
through Cooperative Agreement
CR818526-01-0, and to North Carolina
State University through Cooperative
Agreement Number 58-6645-0-002. It has
been subjected to the Agency's peer and
administrative review, and it has been ap-
proved for publication as an EPA docu-
ment. Mention of trade names or
commercial products does not constitute
endorsement or recommendation for use.
6U.S. GOVERNMENT HUNTING OFFICE: MM - SSM47/S0213
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