Relative Abundance of Red Fir Forest In Seral Stages Other Than Mature
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.
Status
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.
Evaluation Map
Vegetation Distribution in the Tahoe Region - 2010 Ecobject.
2019 Evaluation
- Status
- At or Somewhat Better Than Target
- Trend
- Little or No Change
- Confidence
- Moderate
Applicable Standard
VP8) Relative Abundance - Of the total amount of undisturbed vegetation in the Tahoe Basin: Maintain 15-25% of the Red Fir Forest in seral stages other than mature.
Key Points
- The red fir forest (including juniper) covers 18 percent of the Tahoe Region, inlcuding 6 percent immature.
- Since the last reporting period, updated analysis methods have significantly changed the results of red fir forest abundance making trends incomparable.
- Forest composition changes over a longer time scale than the four-year reporting cycle of threshold evaluations.
Delivering and Measuring Success
EIP Action Priorities
-
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.