Smith Forest Permanent Sample Plot Establishment & Forest Health Data Final Report 2017-2018

Smith Forest Permanent Sample Plot Establishment & Forest Health Data Final Report 2017-2018

Tyler Scuralli & Zachery Mielhausen

Haliburton Highlands Land Trust (HHLT), Greg Wickware

Shaun Watmough, Trent School of the Environment

TP-4760

2018

Online

Haliburton Highlands

Environmental Science / Studies
Forestry
Natural Resource Management

In this study three permanent sample forest plots were established in the Smith Forest which is owned by the Haliburton Highland Land Trust located in Haliburton County. This report will discuss background information regarding permanent sample forest plots such as; ecosite classification, protocol design, plot design, and error generation. An abbreviated methodology based on techniques and instruments used for the Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network (EMAN) protocol has also been included. From the three established permanent sample plots, a variety of forest health parameters were measure, including such measurements as diameter at breast height (DBH), stem defects, tree species, and downed woody debris (DWD). From this data trends in stem density and basal area were analyzed to help determine the age of different locations in the forest. Additional data analysis was conducted on stem defects, and downed woody debris however few conclusions could be drawn from this data as this was the first year of this monitoring program, and there was no prior data to compare current measurements to. Future recommendations for the expanding and continuation of this monitoring program are suggested at the end of the report.