North American Sugar Maple Decline Project: Organization and Field Methods

摘要

Recent reports of decline and mortality in the sugar maple forests of eastern North America generated intense interest in determining the severity of the decline, its geographical extent, and the probable causes. To delineate the problem and identify appropriate avenues of research, the Eastern Hardwoods Research Cooperative of the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program initiated a joint research effort with Forestry Canada. Eventually, the project grew into a large international cooperative effort among various provinces and states, and the two federal governments. The document describes the organization and field methods used in the North American Sugar Maple Decline Project. New methods were developed and tested to measure crown damage. Quality assurance and quality control of the data are given high priority because of the large number of people involved. The instructions in the field methods were translated into French for the benefit of Quebec Cooperators. As a result, 95 percent repeatability of crown rating estimates within the prescribed tolerances was achieved among the crews.