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For, the indicator measures the relative proportion of red fir forests in the Tahoe Region in less than mature seral stage stands. The relative abundance of small tree dominated stands is important because it provides a measure of forest sustainability; without young trees, Tahoe’s forests will not be sufficiently stocked to replace dead and dying trees over time. To produce spatial and structural heterogeneity in Tahoe's forest stands, the TRPA Code of Ordinances allows for the creation of forest openings of up to eight acres to achieve adopted management standards, and USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit's Land Management Plan encourages the creation of openings of varying sizes and shapes that retain reserve trees and clumps.
Estimated percent cover of red fir forest, displayed in light red on the chart, as tree size-class <11 inches diameter at breast height. Data is from LTBMU EcObject, a forest-wide Region 5 Remote Sensing Lab vegetation data set that incorporates Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) into the mapping process. It is created from a multi-resolution segmentation of LiDAR-derived tree approximate objects and a 1-m canopy height model, which were then aggregated by stand and tree-level ecologic relationships.(USDA 2017)
Data provided by the USDA Forest Service, R5 Remote Sensing Lab. Access detailed datasets on Tahoe Open Data, including, vegetation type summary, vegetation spatial data, and detailed vegetation attributes.
- Status
- At or Somewhat Better Than Target
- Trend
- Little or No Change
- Confidence
- Moderate
- The red fir forest, including juniper, accounts for 18 percent of the Tahoe Region, with 34 percent of that area classified as immature.
- During the 2021 Caldor Fire, 862 acres, or 0.5 percent of all undisturbed vegetation, were burned at moderate or high severity.
- Forest composition changes occur over a longer time scale than the four-year cycle used for threshold evaluations.
Vegetation Distribution in the Tahoe Region - 2010 Ecobject.
- This indicator measures the relative proportion of tree stands classified in seral stages other than mature for yellow pine and red fir forests in the Lake Tahoe Region. For this evaluation, “seral stages other than mature” was equated with stands dominated by small diameter trees (less than 10.9-inches diameter at breast height). The relative abundance of small-tree dominated stands is important because it provides a measure of forest sustainability; without young trees, Tahoe’s forests will not be sufficiently stocked to replace dead and dying trees over time. Today, Tahoe’s forests are dominated by an intermediate age/size class ranging in diameter from 11 inches to 23 inches due to past Comstock-era logging and ongoing fire suppression (Raumann and Cablk, 2008b; Taylor, 2007). The area in the Region dominated by Jeffery pine forest has increased since 2003 (USFS LTBMU, 2015).
- The primary natural driver in creating patches of small diameter trees in the Lake Tahoe Region is wildfire and other natural disturbances events. Recent forest management practices have focused on reduction of understory fuel loads in the wildland urban interface. Only now are basin agencies beginning to plan treatments for multi-values in the larger forest landscape that could contribute to standard attainment.
EIP Action Priorities
- Reduce Hazardous Fuels
-
Restore Native Vegetation and Forest Communities
The primary activities in this EIP action priority include reforestation and replanting after destructive fires to protect and restore native forest species.
EIP Indicators
Monitoring Programs
- At or Somewhat Better Than Target. Using the same data and analysis methods as the last evaluation, immature red fir now comprise 34 percent of all red fir forest, which is above the target range of 15-25 percent. Earlier assessments indicated that the Region was not meeting numeric targets.
- Little or No Change. Since the data and analysis methods remain consistent, there have been no major disturbance events that significantly altered the extent of vegetation communities in the Region, aside from two notable events: the 2021 Caldor Fire, which affected 862 acres (0.5 percent of total undisturbed vegetation) of red fir forest with moderate to high severity fire, and a recent tree mortality event on the west shore of Lake Tahoe that primarily effected white fir trees.
- High. Forest managers use best available technology and field reconnaissance to map and classify vegetation types throughout the Lake Tahoe Region about every five years; USDA Forest Service vegetation mapping procedures meet regional and national vegetation mapping standards (FGDC, 1997; Warbington et al., 2011). Because vegetation communities are broadly defined and thus encompass larger spatial extents than individual habitat types, variation in the status and trend of the vegetation community richness indicator is not obvious at the relatively short time scales for which the indicator is remapped and reassessed.
- Moderate. There is moderate to high confidence that, in the absence of disturbance events (e.g., fires, disease, clearing), the spatial extent of vegetation communities at the regional scale does not change significantly over a four-year period. However, the recent Caldor Fire highlights that such disturbances can result in substantial shifts in vegetation dynamics, with approximately 862 acres of red fir likely lost from an estimated total of 31,556 acres.
- Moderate. If one confidence rating is high and the other is moderate, the overall confidence rating is the lower confidence rating.
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No documents available.
April 2017. EcObject Vegetation Map v2.1 Product Guide. USDA Forest Service, R5 Remote Sensing Lab.