REGEN: The Northeastern Forest Regeneration Data Network
Project Goal
To help the region better understand the patterns and trends in forest regeneration, the Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative (FEMC) created REGEN: The Northeastern Forest Regeneration Data Network , an online data and methodology portal that allows users to explore, search, filter, and compare projects and datasets related to forest regeneration.
Overview
The success and patterns of tree regeneration are critical in understanding the current condition and future composition of forests in the northeastern US. In order to successfully manage forests to support forest sector viability, wildlife habitat conservation, and other important ecosystem functions, continuously monitoring and assessing regeneration is necessary.
While many monitoring efforts and research studies have collected regeneration data, this information has not been aggregated, standardized or made public to the broad group of stakeholders who could benefit from the information. The FEMC responded to these concerns by creating REGEN, a structured framework and portal which allows for discovery and comparison of projects and datasets appropriate for use when asking pertinent questions about the status and nature of the region’s regeneration data.
The data collection available through the portal includes projects and datasets ranging from long term research studies examining the effects of silviculture treatments on regeneration to those looking at the effects of natural disturbances on regeneration.
This work reflects the efforts of a broad collaborative group allowing us to work together to promote easier data discovery and utilization without duplication.
Project Quick Facts
Start Date:
5/1/2019
End Date:
4/1/2020
Products:
Comparison Tool
Technical Report
Current FEMC Staff:
Former FEMC Staff:
Other Key Contributors:
Key Partners:
Have Questions?
Contact FEMC
Project Products
Explore the products from this project using the shortcuts below or visit the Products tab to get more details on the various products. You will also find pointers there on how to use the compare tool.
REGEN Compare Tool
Use the compare tool to find projects and datasets related to tree regeneration or suitable for a particular type of analysis, including studies on browse impacts, seed production, and forest management.
Click on the REGEN Compare Tool image or access the tool.
Acknowledgements
We are appreciative of the participation of many researchers, scientists, and managers who have provided information related to their project, and to Harvard University and Hubbard Brook Research Foundation for making data public and well attributed.
We appreciate of the long-term funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service State & Private Forestry, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources and the University of Vermont.
About
Detailed metadata is provided for each project, such as the size of the plots, the definition of a seedling, and what species nomenclature was used. Projects can be filtered by metadata as well as by analysis suitability, selecting only those projects that would be suitable for a particular analysis, such as analysis of sapling mortality over time.
For analysis suitability, projects were assessed on whether they had sufficient information to perform the following seedling or sapling analyses, based on the required data needed for that analysis:
| Analysis | Required data |
|---|---|
| Density | Species, count, plot size |
| Species Composition | Tallies by species |
| Mortality | Status (i.e. live and dead stems) or tracking of individual trees over time |
| Biomass | Diameter, Height |
| Browse Impacts | Browse assessments |
| Change over time | Data collected over two or more timesteps |
| Effects of treatment or management | Data per treatment or management |
| Relationship with overstory trees | Overstory tree data collected in the same locations as regeneration data |
We rated each project's suitability for analysis for that characteristic as Suitable, Partially suitable, or Not suitable:
Each project was also assessed for its compatibility with USDA Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program and was ranked with an FIA similarity of High, Medium or Low:
- H
- M
- L
Technical Report
REGEN: Northeastern Forest Regeneration Data Network
Alexandra Kosiba, Emma Tait, Julia Pupko, Alyx Belisle, and James Duncan
Kosiba AM, Tait E, Pupko J, Belisle A, and Duncan J. 2020. Northeastern Forest Regeneration Data Network, Version 1.0. Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative: South Burlington, VT. https://doi.org/10.18125/17wowp
The technical report provides more information on the project and the methods used for data aggregation, standardization and comparison of various regeneration data products. View report
REGEN compare Tool
The REGEN Compare Tool was designed to provide a quick visualization of how various regeneration data sets compare in their methodology and utility for addressing different aspects of forest regeneration, survivorship and health. This tool can be used to drill down into specific metadata for various data products, as well as to filter to identify datasets of interest.
To get started, browse the suitability of projects for the seedling or sapling analyses listed or use the Filter button to filter the projects by characteristics of interest such as location (state), time frame, elevation or inclusion of specific metrics such as browse or overstory crown condition.
For full details on using the compare tool, view the "How to Use" menu item at the top of the tool.
This tool was last updated on 6/19/2020.