Restoring Forest Inventory Data

Long-term forest plot datasets are helpful for understanding the changing conditions and ecology of forestland over time. The USDA Forest Service produced statewide forest inventories in 1935, 1953, 1962, 1977, 1990, 2003, 2008, and 2013. Unfortunately, only the data from 1977 to the present is currently easily accessible and available in full. Researchers at the University of Minnesota are using this appropriations to locate and restore important information from the 1935, 1953, and 1962 surveys and link it to the more recent data from 1977 and later to generate more detailed understandings of changes in Minnesota’s forests over time. Compiling this data will be useful for examining forests in terms of climate change implications for resilience and adaptability, carbon sequestration potential, habitat and biodiversity change, and overall forest health.