Forests (Midwest Conservation Blueprint 2026 Indicator)

Definition This indicator represents forest heath based on the availability and risk of mortality of forested stands within the Midwest Landscape. It prioritizes areas based on locations of forested stands and risks from major forest insects and diseases. Pixels can take the following values: 1 – Pixels at hazard for mortality losses exceeding 25% of their 2012 basal area over the 2013-2027 time frame. 2 – Pixels considered at risk in the National Insect and Disease 2012 assessment, but that are likely no longer at risk. 3 – Treed areas, but not modeled as “At Risk.” Selection This indicator was chosen as a targetable, important feature of the MLI goals that will be used to track conditions over time and prioritize areas for conservation. Indicators were defined through elicitation and prioritization exercises with federal and state participants. Criteria for the indicators includes 1) actionable, 2) measurable, 3) relevant to multiple groups across the region, and/or 4) representative of other social and/or environmental values. Input Data & Mapping Steps This indicator originates from the U.S. Forest Service National Insect and Disease Risk Map and the National Land Cover Database (NLCD). To create this layer, MLI partners, members, and staff completed the following mapping steps: projected all input data to NAD83 (2011) UTM Zone 15N, resampled the Forest layer to a 30m raster, and reclassed the raster into the following 3 classes: 1 – Pixels at hazard for mortality losses exceeding 25% of their 2012 basal area over the 2013-2027 time frame, 2 – Pixels considered at risk in the NIDRM_2012 assessment, but that are likely no longer at risk, 3 – Treed areas, but not modeled as “At Risk”. Due to the low resolution of the Forest data, many non-forest pixels are incorrectly classified as treed stands. To correct the issue, pixels classified by NLCD as non-forest were removed from the Forest data. Finally, we removed highly altered areas from this layer using our Highly Altered Areas mask. For full mapping details, please refer to the Midwest Conservation Blueprint Development Process. For a complete download of all Blueprint input and output data, visit the Midwest Conservation Blueprint 2026 Data Download.定义 本指标基于中西部景观（Midwest Landscape）内林分的可获得性与死亡风险，表征森林健康状况。该指标依据林分位置以及主要森林昆虫与病害带来的风险对区域进行优先级排序。像元可取值如下： 1 – 在2013-2027时段内，存在死亡损失超过其2012年断面积（basal area）25%风险的像元； 2 – 在2012年全国昆虫与病害评估中被认定为受威胁，但目前大概率已不再处于风险中的像元； 3 – 已被划为林地，但未被建模为“受威胁”区域的像元。 选取依据 本指标被选为MLI目标中具备可靶向性的重要特征，将用于长期追踪环境状况并为保护工作划定优先级区域。指标通过与联邦及州级参与者开展的专家征询与优先级排序工作确定。指标遴选标准包括：1）具备可操作性；2）可量化；3）与区域内多类群体相关；及/或4）可代表其他社会与/或环境价值。 输入数据与制图步骤 本指标源自美国林务局（U.S. Forest Service）全国昆虫与病害风险地图（National Insect and Disease Risk Map, NIDRM）以及全国土地覆盖数据库（National Land Cover Database, NLCD）。为生成该图层，MLI合作方、成员及工作人员完成了以下制图步骤：将所有输入数据投影至NAD83（2011）坐标系UTM 15N分带，将森林图层重采样为30米分辨率栅格，并将栅格重分类为以下3类： 1 – 在2013-2027时段内，存在死亡损失超过其2012年断面积25%风险的像元； 2 – 在NIDRM 2012版评估中被认定为受威胁，但目前大概率已不再处于风险中的像元； 3 – 已被划为林地，但未被建模为“受威胁”区域的像元。 由于森林数据分辨率较低，大量非森林像元被错误归类为林分区域。为修正该问题，我们将NLCD标注为非森林的像元从森林数据集中剔除。最终，我们通过预设的高度改变区域掩膜（Highly Altered Areas mask），剔除了本图层内的高度改变区域。如需获取完整制图细节，请参阅《中西部保护蓝图开发流程》（Midwest Conservation Blueprint Development Process）。如需完整下载所有保护蓝图的输入与输出数据，请访问《2026年中西部保护蓝图数据下载页面》（Midwest Conservation Blueprint 2026 Data Download）。