Forest health monitoring: national status, trends, and analysis 2013

Abstract

The annual national report of the Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, presents forest health status and trends from a national or multi-State regional perspective using a variety of sources, introduces new techniques for analyzing forest health data, and summarizes results of recently completed Evaluation Monitoring projects funded through the FHM national program. In this 13th edition in a series of annual reports, survey data are used to identify geographic patterns of insect and disease activity. Satellite data are employed to detect geographic patterns of forest fire occurrence. Recent drought conditions are compared across the conterminous United States. Data collected by the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program are employed to detect regional differences in tree mortality. A satellite-derived change detection system operating across the conterminous United States is described. A conceptual organization of existing and future technologies to support and improve forest health monitoring is presented. FIA data are used to produce a national map of invasive plant species infestation and to evaluate changes in crown conditions during the last decade. Five recently completed Evaluation Monitoring projects are summarized, addressing forest health concerns at smaller scales.