A unit of Lasting Forests evolving since March 30, 1999
A Total Forest Management Plan and Wildland Management Decision Support System
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Field Forms Manual

This manual is part of The Trevey which tries to help regional landowners, realtors, developers, and others understand their wildlands and their relationship to them. It also tries to help agencies and regulatory groups understand the forests and their landowners and to assist them in becbming a part of the invaluable natural resources system of the region.

As an example of how the system may be used, the Maryland Forest Conservation Act requires that forest stands be mapped and then studied for preservation. Many other studies are needed for profit, protection, andthe sheer joy of ownership, recreation, and reasonable investment. This manual provides a basis for such studies. It is brief{ so that it can be taken to the field). After the data are entered into a computer, a report is automatically written for an owner analyzing and interpreting the data that are entered.

In the final analysis,The Trevey seeks to name and explain the full range of esthetic and other values of a forest. It seeks to answer what are the best parts of the forest, how to decide on their rank order, why to save or treat this area having trees over that area, and how to manage the lands for benefits over the long run. The Trevey applies decision science in helping to make such important decisions about the forest. The facts and figures used, along with those in the computer, are those that are obtained from these field forms.

This Field Forms Manual tries to explain the three Field Forms that need to be completed well so that top quality data can be collected easily, so that as little time as possible will be required in the field or office, costs can be reduced, and so that there can be the least frustration or uncertainty among all people concerned. The owners need to know as much as reasonably possible about their forests' productivity, preservation, or regeneration. The quality of the Field Forms and the report produced from them will assure the information they get is the best possible.

Forms and programs are easily changed and hand-held computers are available to improve field data collection. In the computer, the forms are identical to those shown here for manual use. If you have difficulties, see chances for improvements, or note errors, let Dr. Giles hear from you. Call him at 540-552-8672 or send an email.

Make copies of Field Form Type 1 using your printer or cut and paste to a word processor.

Helping you analyze the wildland
The Trevey Field Form Type 1

Date (day, month year):
Starting:_______
Ending:_________

Name of Crew or Crew Chief:_______________________________________
Telephone Number of Crew Chief (with area code): _____-____________

Name of Ownership, Property, or Project:____________________________
Land Use Type(Code 13): __________--________________
County (Code 1): _________________-- ______________
Coastal Part of the County (Code 2):__________________________

Latitude:
maximum___________
minimum__________

Longitude:
maximum___________
minimum__________

Names of the Compartments or Subunits of the Ownership (if relevant):
Name:__________________Area in Acres: ________
Name:__________________Area in Acres: ________
Name:__________________Area in Acres: ________
Total Acres within Ownership (Sum):___________
Count of Stand Boundary Intercepts With Map Diagonals:____

CODE 1: A list of county code numbers is available CODE 2: 1 = yes for each state; 2 = no

Only one copy of this form goes with all other forms for all stands within the ownership being analyzed
Attach a copy of a map with these forms.
Attach any Observer's Notes that you want to be included in the final report.

Field Form Type 1 - The Ownership Form

The Form Type 1, the Ownership Form, needs to be completed only once for an entire tract or ownership. It is usually attached with a map to the top of all Type 2 forms. Each item on the forms is described:

• Dates - Day, month, and year (in that order) are recorded for record-keeping, reporting time from~observaflon to analysis, and reporting of monthly activity in field work and workload for analyses. If you are in the field for more than one day doing an area analysis, enter the first and last day of work on the area. If the second date is blank, only one day will be assumed to be the time required to complete the field work.
• Name of Crew or Crew Chief- Enter the name of the responsible person. In some companies, crews have a name or number. Responsible work needs to be recognized.
• Telephone Number of Crew Chief- To avoid long or costly delays if field form records cannot be interpreted with certainty, a rapid contact is needed. Enter a number at which some good answers can be gotten if needed. This number will rarely be used.
• Company or Agency - Often stamped or printed on all forms, the company name is needed for the analysis and for the responsibility. An annual count of all companies and the extent of submissions by each company can be made later.
• Name of Ownership, Property, or Project - The A.B. Seay Tract or The Big Sale - 1 (if preparing to buy or sell and an obscure name is needed) is sufficient to enter as a name for discussing and for identifing the analysis. This name will appear within the analysis.
• County- The name of the county is with the form and is coded. Enter the county number. If the area is in 2 or more counties, enter the number of each county if any part of the property (any part of any stand) is in a county. A summary by county, ownerships, and areas can be made later.
• State- Enter the state abreviation. Overlaps occur. Enter the state in which most of the area occurs.
• Coastal Part of County- If the tract is in the general vicinity of the coastal part of a county, enter 1. Entering a 2 implies you are in a piedmont or mountainous county or part of a county. (The number helps estimate the most likely forest type.)
• Latitude and Longitude- The minimum and maximum latitude and longitude for the area is requested. These can be gotten from your surveyor, GPS use, or from a U.S.G.S. topographic map.

  Specify the upper and lower latitudes, then the east and west longitudes, thus specifying a "window" within which analyses will be made.

  

  Report measures as close as possible using degrees, minutes, and seconds. The latitude is used in solar radiation and ecological models.

• Name of the Compartment or Subunit of the Ownership- If the total ownership area is large, or is separated into major working units or compartments and you need to analyze them separately for any reason, then a compartment name (letter, number, etc.) is needed for each. If there is only one area and no compartments, leave this area blank.
• Compartment Area- Just indicate the acres in each area as precisely as possible (e.g., 4.35).
• Total Acres in Ownership- Enter the total acres inside the boundary of the tract being evaluated. Get the area from a surveyor, or use a planimeter or other devices. If there are compartments, then the total in the list just made should be the same as the number entered here.
• Count of Intercepts Along Map Diagonals- See Figure 2. Make 2 light diagonal pencil lines across the map being used for delineating the ownership and stands. Count the number of places where these diagonals intercept the stand boundary lines. Record the number. (The number, with other data, becomes an index to interspersion and to spatial diversity.)

This is the end of Field Form Type 1. It goes with one or more copies of Field Forms Type 2.

Field Form Type 2 - The Stand Form

An ownership is composed of compartments (here 4) with stands inside each compartment. Within each stand (8 shown here), Stops (symbolized as dots) are made to collect data.

Ownership Name_______________________________________
Compartment Name or Number (if any)_____________________

Stand Characteristics	Observations
Stand Number?
Floodplain? (code 2)
Stand Age? (years)
Moisture Condition? (code 3)
Sunlight Condition? (code 4)
Total Acres in the Stand?
Number of Modified Acres(if any) in the Stand?
Elevation at the Center? (from map, etc.)
Average Slope(%) ?
Slope Units (code 5)
Predominant Aspect? (compass azimuth downhill)
Shape? (code 7)
Dead Stem Count (the 3-snag distance)
Manageability? (code 8)
Adjacent to Non-Owned Forest Stand ? (code 2)
Inland Freshwater Wet Area? (code 2)
Conifer Density? (code 9)
Conifer Variety? (code 10)
Adjacent or Interior Water Resource Present? (code 11)
Freshwater or Tidal Stream Present? (code 2)
Specimen Tree(s) Present? (code 2)
Cove Stand ? (code 2)

Field Form Type 3 - The Stops Form

Within each stand a few stops are are made, equipment used, and observations made. This form is attached to the Stand Form.

Stop Number	1	2	3
Total Basal Area (10-factor prism)
Dominant Timber Size Class (code12)
* *Percentage of Total Volume
Next Most Dominant Size (code 12)
* *Percentage of Total Volume
Live Trees (stems) in Belt Transect
Understory Amount (code 9)
Understory Variety (code 10)
Distance (feet) to the 15th Stem
Percent of Area Covered in Seed-Grain Plants
Dead and Down Stems?

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This Web site is maintained by R. H. Giles, Jr.
Last revision January 17, 2000.