• Lausten, Kenneth M.
  University of Maine Graduate School
  

Shortly after harvest, fourteen continuous forest inventory (CFI) plots of various sizes and configurations were established in the 1920s and then periodically remeasured as a group into the 1980s. Initial data collection consisted of species, size, and count for seedling, sapling, and merchantable trees for this analysis. The plots have been assigned to one of four forest cover types: Spruce Swamp; Spruce Flat; Spruce/Yellow Birch; and Spruce Slope allowing a grouping of the plot data into a more representative average. Species were also grouped into spruce, balsam fir, other softwood, and hardwood categories. The availability of long-term CFI data is rare and the opportunity to analyze is even more limited. The legacy of the natural stand dynamics summarized is not only important historical information on stand development, but provides critical information for future forest management decision-making when the spruce budworm returns.