The forests of Maine: 2003

Abstract

In 1999, the Maine Forest Service (MFS) and USDA Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program implemented a new system for inventorying and monitoring Maine's forests. A salient feature of the new inventory process is a nearly threefold improvement in timeliness as full inventories are completed every 5 years. The 2003 results represent the first full set of annual inventory and growth data since the end of the extreme spruce-budworm epidemic (SBE) of the 1970's and 1980's. The effects of the SBE continue to affect the composition, structure, and distribution of Maine's forested ecosystems. Insight into current forest dynamics will help stakeholders plan for potential future disturbances like SBE. The area of forest land in Maine has remained stable since the 1970's. Although relatively small acreages of forest are converted to other land uses these conversions often remove highly valued forests such as white pine. The total inventory volume of live trees increased slightly, indicating the beginning of a response of Maine's forest to the tremendous devastation from SBE. The spatial distribution of sapling-size spruce and fir across the State reveals a general abundance of regeneration, foretelling waves of merchantable wood in coming years.

An index to identify late-successional forest in temperate and boreal zones

“…Together, these two forest types accounted for 73% of forestlands in our study area, the northern two-thirds of the state of Maine (USA): NH forest accounted for 40% and SF forest accounted for 33% of the forestland (McWilliams et al, 2003). Northern Maine has been uniquely dominated by commercial forest ownership with typical tracts >50,000 ha, much of which is certified (McWilliams et al, 2003).…”

Applicability of International Harvesting Equipment Productivity Studies in Maine, USA: A Literature Review

“…ex Aiton) forest types ( Figure 1) [12]. Since species composition is closely related to regeneration strategy (i.e., plantation or natural), it is not surprising that stand origin in Maine is 97.9% from natural regeneration and only 2.1% from plantations [16]. Landownership in Maine is unique for the region in that 93% is classified as private forest ownership [13].…”

“…As noted earlier, species composition is dependent on regeneration strategy, so Maine's practice of natural regeneration limits the applicability of approximately half of the reviewed studies due to their harvest of plantations. Stand origin in Maine is 97.9% from natural regeneration and only 2.1% from plantations [16]. Several of the more recent studies have been conducted in softwood plantations focusing on Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H.Karst.)…”

Assessing the Feasibility of Low-Density LiDAR for Stand Inventory Attribute Predictions in Complex and Managed Forests of Northern Maine, USA

“…For instance, bare-ground is presumably 1 m below the lowest pulse return to account for the height of understory vegetation [10,13], which can differ among forest ecosystems and silvicultural regimes. Thus, certain preliminary information is necessary to define threshold heights, particularly in northern Maine, where the forests have extensive advance regeneration, due to past and present silvicultural treatments [14]. Finally, extracting height information accurately at the individual tree level may not be possible from LiDAR data, despite a number of studies that have pursued such a goal [15,16].…”