GRS Completes Second (2017) Kuskokwim River Forest Inventory Field Season
July 31, 2017 - For Immediate Release
Geographic Resource Solutions completed its second BLM Alaska Forest Inventory field season in the eastern portion of the middle Kuskokwim River drainage. Field sampling took place over a three-week period, beginning on July 10th and ending on July 29th, during which field staff sampled 66 field sites and visited an additional 14 field sample areas while traveling approximately 270 miles starting in Lime Village along the Stony River and then continuing along the Kuskokwim River and portions of the Swift, Cheeneetnuk, and Selatna rivers, sampling as far east on the Kuskokwim River as 10 miles north of the mouth of the Selatna River. Sample stands were selected for use in GRS's subsequent application of their Discrete Classification Mapping Methodology (DCMM) based on the processing of Landsat 8 imagery from 2015 and 2016. Sample stands were selected on the basis of image stratification results that identified the largest homogeneous areas of the different spectrally determined strata that represented the different forestlands in the middle Kuskokwim River drainage. Sample sites were accessed from points traveled to by boat along the river(s) and then cross-country hiking.
GRS staff implemented the line-point transect sampling methodology to develop the usual species/landscape feature-specific canopy cover estimates, but which GRS has adapted to also develop forest inventory estimates that include species-specific estimates of trees/acres, height, cubic volume, and biomass (dry tons/acre). All trees, shrubs, herbaceous and non-vascular plants were recorded, as well as landscape features that represented abiotic site features related to the sampled plant communities. Integrated in this sampling approach were Brown's transects to estimate both counts of both coarse by decay class and fine woody debris by fuel class. The resulting sample area summary data produced species-specific estimates of canopy cover, quadratic mean diameter, trees/acre, average heighth, cubic volume/acre, and biomass (dry tons)/acre.
All travel to field sites was accomplished by boat and cross-country hiking. Kudos to the GRS field crew for enduring some of the rough and primitive conditions they experienced during this trip.
During this effort GRS staff worked out of Lime Village, the Stoney River Lodge, the Gusty cabin on the Swift River, and a camp setup on the Kuskokwim River near the mouth of the Selatna River. Transportation and support for this effort was provided by Sound Aviation of Anchorage, AK. Guide services were provided by Charlie Gusty of Stony River, AK.
GRS staff that participated in this effort were (l-r) Chris Stumpf, Monica Moreno-Espinoza, Sage Romberg, Adrienne Kerr, and Ken Stumpf.
