• Address:
  705 Spear Street
  South Burlington, Vermont 05403
  United States of America
  
  Phone: (802) 391-4135
  Email: femc@uvm.edu
  Website: www.uvm.edu/femc

The Forest Health Monitoring Program (FHM) was established in 1991 as a joint effort between the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (FPR) and the Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative (FEMC)) to monitor the condition of a range of tree species in Vermont. After successfully establishing and conducting annual assessments on FHM plots in Vermont for almost three decades, the FEMC has expanded to surrounding states to yield a more complete picture of forest health across the New England and New York region. In 2019, the FEMC collaborated with MA DCR to establish 20 FHM plots on MA state lands to add to its annual FHM network. In 2020 the FEMC expanded to CT (15 plots), RI (7 plots), ME (35 plots), and NH (30 plots) to add permanent FHM plots in a similar manner. To improve comparability and utility of each program, the FHM plots were co-located at established, long-term plot locations, representing the major forest types and geographies on public lands in each state. Plot designs follow two fixed radius plot layouts - Cluster and Nested. Cluster plots follow the USDA Forest Inventory and Analysis cluster of four circular subplots. Nested plot design refers to a single fixed radius nested plot design exemplified by the MA DRC CFI program. These plot designs follow the structure set by the National Forest Health Monitoring Program with additional metrics added to reflect improvements in monitoring technologies and additions to monitoring objectives.

• Label: Abundance

• Description: Numeric code representing abundance of invasive species

• Storage Type: int

• Measurment Type: ordinal

• Custom List: Invasive Species Abundance Codes
• Code: 1
• Definition: Infrequent occurrence; 1 to a few present
• Code: 2
• Definition: Sparsely throughout; 1-2 plants together, in a few locations
• Code: 3
• Definition: Localized patches; several plants together, occuring in a few locations
• Code: 4
• Definition: Frequent in stands; dense areas of plants occuring in a few locations
• Code: 5
• Definition: Densely throughout; high populations making up understory and/or regeneration

• Label: PlotID

• Description: Unique plot identifier

• Storage Type: text

• Measurment Type: ordinal

• Label: Species

• Description: Numeric code assigned to invasive species

• Storage Type: int

• Measurment Type: ordinal

• Custom List: Invasive_Species_Codes
• Code: 6
• Definition: Norway Maple
• Code: 5
• Definition: Multiflora Rose
• Code: 4
• Definition: Honeysuckle: Bell, Japanese, Amur, Morrow or Tartarian
• Code: 3
• Definition: Bittersweet, oriental
• Code: 2
• Definition: Buckthorn: common or glossy
• Code: 1
• Definition: Barberry, Japanese and common
• Code: 7
• Definition: Autumn or Russian Olive
• Code: 8
• Definition: Japanese knotweed
• Code: 9
• Definition: Garlic Mustard
• Code: 10
• Definition: Privet
• Code: 11
• Definition: Tree of Heaven
• Code: 12
• Definition: Wild Chervil (cow parsnip)
• Code: 13
• Definition: Burning Bush or winged Euonymus
• Code: 14
• Definition: Goutweed
• Code: 15
• Definition: Amur Maple
• Code: 16
• Definition: Amur cork-tree
• Code: 17
• Definition: Black swallow-wort
• Code: 18
• Definition: Creeping jenny, moneywort
• Code: 19
• Definition: Kudzu
• Code: 20
• Definition: Mile-a-minute weed
• Code: 21
• Definition: Narrowleaf bittercress
• Code: 22
• Definition: Porcelain berry
• Code: 23
• Definition: Sycamore Maple
• Code: 99
• Definition: Other - please specify

• Label: SubplotID

• Description: Unique subplot identifier

• Storage Type: int

• Measurment Type: ordinal

• Label: Year

• Description: Year of data collection

• Storage Type: date

• Measurment Type: datetime
• String Format: YYYY