Integrating Vegetation Classification, Mapping, and Strategic Inventory for Forest Management

Many of the analyses needed to address multiple resource issues are focused on vegetation pattern and process relationships and most rely on the data models produced from vegetation classification, mapping, and/or inventory. The Northern Region Vegetation Mapping Project (R1-VMP) data models are based on these three integrally related, yet separate processes. This paper describes the integration of vegetation classification, mapping, and inventory to produce the basic vegetation data for land and resource planning and management for the USDA Forest Service Northern Region. The conceptual relationships between classification, mapping, and inventory are discussed and the operational integration of the resulting data is described.