Stem Map for Study Area of the Forest Ecosystem Dynamics Project Spatial Data Archive

Forest Ecosystem Dynamics (FED) Project Spatial Data Archive: Stem Map for Northern Experimental Forest Spruce Site

The Biospheric Sciences Branch (formerly Earth Resources Branch) within the Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and associated University investigators are involved in a research program entitled Forest Ecosystem Dynamics (FED) which is fundamentally concerned with vegetation change of forest ecosystems at local to regional spatial scales (100 to 10,000 meters) and temporal scales ranging from monthly to decadal periods (10 to 100 years). The nature and extent of the impacts of these changes, as well as the feedbacks to global climate, may be addressed through modeling the interactions of the vegetation, soil, and energy components of the boreal ecosystem. The Howland Forest research site lies within the Northern Experimental Forest of International Paper. The natural stands in this boreal-northern hardwood transitional forest consist of spruce-hemlock-fir, aspen-birch, and hemlock-hardwood mixtures. The topography of the region varies from flat to gently rolling, with a maximum elevation change of less than 68 m within 10 km. Due to the region's glacial history, soil drainage classes within a small area may vary widely, from well drained to poorly drained. Consequently, an elaborate patchwork of forest communities has developed, supporting exceptional local species diversity.

The Stem map data covers a site located on the Southern border of the Howland, Maine township. The data contains tree diameter at breast height (DBH), species, and canopy position. The data were collected during June - September 1990 by Kate LeJeune of the University of Virginia. Original coordinates of tree position were in meters with an origin at 0,0 in the Southeast corner of the map, X increasing to the North and Y increasing to the West. The origin is located on the Howland townline at 184.89 meters from the intersection of the townline with Gunbarrel road. Origin Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinates were determined from the FED Geographic Information System (GIS). Coordinates of individual trees were calculated based on this information and the X,Y position measured in meters. UTM coordinates were originally calculated in the North American Datum of 1927 (NAD27).