Forest Inventory and Analysis - Southern Research Station

About Us-

Directions | Disclaimers | Privacy Policy

USDA Southern Research Station, Forest Inventory and Analysis-4801

A collaborative partnership with the Southern Group of Stat Foresters in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Virgin Islands; Southern Region national Forest System; State and Private Forestry

Mission

To conduct a program of research to improve the understanding of Southern forest ecosystems through inventories and analyses of the status and trends in resource conditions, use, productivity, and sustainability; and to conduct research to provide improved technology for timely and accurate resource inventories.

National Scope and Prominence

Systematic periodic forest inventories in the nation began after the McSweeney-McNary Forest Research Act was passed in 1928. This law is the basis of national forest inventories in the U.S. The Southern Research Station Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program is an integral part of the national inventory. The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978 replaced earlier legislation. This Act was amended by: Agriculture Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (Farm Bill). It authorized a national continuous, comprehensive survey and analysis of all renewable forest resources. We are a component of this national survey and analysis.

Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) continues to provide the only national source of comprehensive strategic inventory information on the extent, condition, and use of all forested lands in the Nation. Data and analysis from our staff is the basis for all national inventory data bases.

Collaboration Efforts for the Research Program

Timely inventory information for land managers about Southern forest ecosystems is a high priority. Because of the importance that the wood-using industries play in shaping the economic future of the Southern States, it is imperative that the status and trends of these forest resources be assessed in a timely manner to assure sustainability. This need led to a major collaborative partnership of the USDA Forest Service (the Southern Research Station and Region 8), Southern State foresters, industry, universities, and others. The FIA Program is focusing on developing the annual inventory system for the South; State foresters have contributed substantial human and financial resources to developing and implementing annual inventories. The FIA Program is the only entity that conducts comprehensive forest resource inventories on both public and private lands in the Southern United States.

Southern Research Station FIA Goal

In responding to the Southern Group of State Foresters agreement in 1996 and 1997, Southern Governors Resolutions of 1996 and 1998, the Farm Bill of 1998, and the Blue Ribbon Panel Reports of 1993 and 1998, our goal is to fully implement a Southwide annual inventory system by collaborating with Southern State Foresters. To meet this goal we are:

¨ Developing new techniques to reduce costs, improve accuracy, and timelines

¨ Developing new techniques to assess all important values on all forest land

¨ Developing better methodologies for field measurements and data analysis

¨ Improving our ability to display and summarize spatial characteristics of forest resources

Value of the Research

Regardless of the natural resource issue, managers and decision-makers will always need accurate and timely assessments of the resources involved. These assessments must use credible and cost-efficient survey techniques, predict future conditions, monitor actual trends or changes, and distribute data into political, economic, and ecological systems. Measurement of forest resources has always been important to our customers and has often stimulated new avenues of research. Inventory information has been the source of feedback on policy, management, and changes in forest health across ownerships. Inventory results have been useful for economic development and forest planning decisions as well as analyses of timber supply, biodiversity, and risk both at landscape and regional levels. Today, decision-makers are demanding up-to-date assessments of forest health and use that go beyond the periodic inventories of the past, so they can respond to rapidly escalating changes in southern landscapes and populations. Other customers for these assessments include State foresters, forest industry, forestry consultants, conservation groups, national forests, and universities. With our 70-year history of increasingly comprehensive inventories, the Southern Research Station offers experienced personnel, tested methods, and detailed data bases.

Directions to the Knoxville, FIA Headquarters

If you are traveling from Asheville:

Take I-40 west.
Take James White Parkway exit number 388A 0.2 miles
Merge onto SR-158 W (Neyland Drive) 1.5 miles
Turn left onto Kingston Pike (US – 11) 2.0 miles
Turn slight left onto Old Kingston Pike 0.2 miles
Turn left onto Dryad St. n/a
Turn left into parking lot

If you are traveling from Starkville:

Take the I-24 exit towards Chattanooga
Merge onto I-24 E. 16.7 miles
Take the I-75 N exit number 185B on the left towards Knoxville 0.5 miles
Merge onto I-75 N 98.1 miles
Take Papermill Drive exit number 383 0.1 miles
Keep right at the fork in the ramp 0.0 miles
Go straight through light onto Hwy 322 0.5 miles
Turn left onto Kingston Pike 1.3 miles
Turn right onto Forest Park Blvd. 0.1 miles
Turn sharp right onto Old Kingston Pike 0.1 miles
Turn left onto Dryad Street 0.0 miles
Turn left into parking lot n/a

If you are traveling from Kentucky:

Take I-75 S toward Knoxville
Take I-75/I-640 toward Nashville/Chattanooga 3.0 miles
Take Papermill Drive exit number 383 0.2 miles
Turn left onto Papermill Drive 0.1 miles
Turn left onto Hwy 322 0.5 miles
Turn left onto Kingston Pike 1.3 miles
Turn right onto Forest Park Blvd. 0.1 miles
Turn sharp right onto Old Kingston Pike 0.1 miles
Turn left onto Dryad Street 0.0 miles
Turn left into parking lot n/a

If you are traveling from McGhee-Tyson Airport:

Exit airport to US-129 N (Alcoa Hwy.) towards Knoxville 10.8 miles
Take the US- 11/Kingston Pike exit 0.1 miles
Turn left onto US-11/Kingston Pike 2.2 miles
Turn slight left onto Old Kingston Pike 0.2 miles
Turn left onto Dryad Street 0.1 miles
Turn left into parking lot n/a