Monitoring and Documentation of Forest Management Activities at Los Alamos National Laboratory

Summary

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has implemented a new technical procedure (EPC-TP-01-2022, effective January 30, 2023) for monitoring and documenting forest management activities to mitigate wildland fire risks and comply with environmental mandates, including an audit in February 2021 (DOE-OIG-21-13). The monitoring plan establishes a detailed sampling design for "Open Space" treatment areas, with an average of one plot for every 3 acres. Each plot involves a 20-meter transect cross where 40 line-point intercept (LPI) measurements are taken and specific fuel types (1-hour to 1000-hour fuels) are quantified. Data collection includes overstory and midstory tree inventories (e.g., pole-sized trees from 1.0 to 6 inches DBH), shrub inventories, canopy closure, and fuelbed depths (up to 1.4 meters), measured at 12 specific points. Monitoring occurs pre-treatment, immediately post-treatment, at 1 and 2 years post-treatment, and then long-term every 5 and 10 years.

Key Facts

Source Document

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