New Variants
The Forest Vegetation Simulator has a modular software design, and the relationships that project diameter growth, height growth and mortality are kept separate from other program infrastructure. This architecture has allowed the USDA Forest Service to create (at last count) 21 regionally tailored variants.
PrognosisBC
(click to enlarge) |
| PrognosisBC is available for the Interior Cedar Hemlock (ICH - orange) and Interior Douglas-fir (IDF - yellow) biogeoclimatic zones of British Columbia, Canada. |
ESSA has assisted the BC Ministry of Forests since 1996 in its initiative to develop PrognosisBC, a variant of FVS for southern and central British Columbia. In 2005, Version 3.2 was released, and includes completely new equations for 13 species of conifers and hardwoods. The small and large tree diameter and height models, height dubbing model and mortality models for these species have all been completely refit for the Interior Douglas-fir (IDF) and Interior Cedar Hemlock (ICH) zones (see figure) biogeoclimatic zones. Scientists from the Ministry’s Research Branch and the University of British Columbia have led the mensurational research underlying PrognosisBC. Following this milestone, efforts are under way to next expand the system to include the more northern Sub-Boreal Spruce and Sub-Boreal Pine-Spruce (SBS/SBPS) zones.
Like its earlier versions, PrognosisBC Version 3.2 is most frequently used through a graphical interface that allows users to design and carry out runs, save results, and produce graphic and tabular results. Version 3.2 also provides stand visualization capabilities through links to the Stand Visualization System (SVS).
FVSOntario
(click to enlarge) |
| FVSOntario is available for the Great Lakes-St Lawrence (red) and forested boreal (green) regions of Ontario, Canada. |
Building on the work in BC, and in cooperation with the BC Ministry of Forests, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) is leading a group that includes the Forestry Research Partnership, the Canadian Forest Service, Tembec and ESSA, to develop an Ontario variant of FVS. Begun in 2001 with support from Ontario’s Living Legacy Trust, this collaborative program has adapted the Lakes States variant of FVS to the forests of boreal and central Ontario. In the first phase of work, the Lake States variant was metrified and the PrognosisBC interface adapted and enhanced to reflect management activities used in Ontario. Now in Phase 3 of a four-year program, scientists at the Laurentian Forestry Centre – with subsequent additional work by Forest Analysis Ltd. – recently assisted in the development of new equations for the growth and mortality submodels. These two submodels encompass the most common hardwoods and softwoods of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence region of central Ontario and the forested boreal region of northeast Ontario. Regional volume and taper functions and height-diameter functions have also been introduced. Research is also under way to find ways to adapt LiDAR technology to the development of an FVS-ready inventory.
Additional Information at Related Sites:
BC Ministry of Forests PrognosisBC web site
University of BC Forestry Sciences PrognosisBC web site
FVSOntario web site
SVS
New Variants Reports and Publications
