Abstract

Use of Knowledge Base Systems in Ecosystem Monitoring and Assessment
Track: Ecology and Conservation
Author(s): Keith Reynolds, Mark Jensen

The Northern Region of the USDA Forest Service is using the Ecosystem Management Decision Support System (www.institute.redlands.edu/emds) in its evaluation of ecosystem sustainability for Forest Plan revision. The knowledge base design for this assessment was constructed to facilitate integrated evaluations of social, economic, and ecological information. This presentation will illustrate how this software (which functions as an ARCGIS tool extension) has been successfully used by the Northern Region of the USDA Forest Service in its evaluation of ecosystem and species diversity, watershed condition, social and economic sustainability, and other natural resource issues. The knowledge base design used in this study will be described and we will present results of our assessment for National Forest areas of western Montana and northern Idaho. Additionally, we will describe basic features of the Ecosystem Management Decision Support System software and discuss its potential for future use in various ecosystem assessment efforts.

Keith Reynolds
USDA - Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station
Forestry Sciences Lab
Corvallis , Oregon 97331
United States
Phone: 541-750-7434
E-mail: kreynolds@fs.fed.us

Mark Jensen
USDA Forest Service, Northern Region
PO Box 8201
Missoula , Montana 59807
United States
Phone: 406-329-3047
E-mail: mjensen@fs.fed.us