Estimating Forest Site Productivity Using Spatial Interpolation

Highly productive timberland is threatened in many areas throughout the Southeastern United States. Tools are needed that can provide reliable, landscape-level estimates of forest site productivity. This technical note describes a simple technique that integrates Forest Inventory and Analysis data with spatial interpolation methods to map regional forest site productivity. A case study of West Tennessee timberland indicates that highly productive forest sites may be associated with the conditions of West Tennesse bottomlands. Results illustrate the applicability of this method of the study of timber supply, land resource analysis, and regional forest conservation planning. Future research will evaluate the consistency between this and other methods of site assessment.