CDIAC DB-1005 FORAST Data Base S. B. McLaughlin, D. J. Downing, T. J. Blasing, B. L. Jackson, D. J. Pack, D. N. Duvick, L. K. Mann, and T. W. Doyle Environmental Sciences Division Oak Ridge National Laboratory P. O. Box 2008 Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6352 INTRODUCTION The Forest Responses to Anthropogenic Stress (FORAST) project was designed to determine whether evidence of alterations of long-term growth patterns of several species of eastern forest trees was apparent in tree-ring chronologies from within the region and to identify environmental variables that were temporally or spatially correlated with any observed changes. The project was supported principally by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with additional support from the National Park Service. The FORAST project was initiated in 1982 as exploratory research to document patterns of radial growth of forest trees during the previous 50 or more years within 15 states in the northeastern United States. Radial growth measurements from more than 7,000 trees are provided along with data on a variety of measured and calculated indices of stand characteristics (basal area, density, and competitive indices); climate (temperature, precipitation, and drought); and anthropogenic pollutants (state and regional emissions of SO2 and NOX, ozone monitoring data, and frequency of atmospheric- stagnation episodes and atmospheric haze). These data were compiled into a single database to facilitate exploratory analysis of tree growth patterns and responses to local and regional environmental conditions. The project objectives, experimental design, and documentation of procedures for assessing data collected in the 3-year research project are reported in McLaughlin et al. (1986). Portions of this report are available from CDIAC upon request. DATA FILES AND FORMAT The database files are divided into three groups. Two of the groups (FORASTR and FORASTS) contain the same tree-ring chronology information (ring-width and basal area increments); one is sorted by region, and the other by tree species. The third group (FORASTEC) is a collection of miscellaneous background data including climate, air quality, and tree and site characteristics. The data base consists of 99 data files. The original 48 SAS data files are provided and require approximately 111 MB of disk space. In addition, CDIAC has created 48 ASCII files of the same data, an ASCII README file, region file, and species file. The region and species files merge all the files in the respective subdirectory (FORASTR and FORASTS). Portions of the FORAST database have been incorporated into the International Tree Ring Data Base (ITRDB), a large collection of tree-ring data archived by and available from the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC). For further information about the ITRDB, contact Bruce Bauer at NGDC (303-497-6280 or bab@luna.ngdc.noaa.gov). CONTENT AND FORMAT OF DATA FILES IN SUBDIRECTORY FORASTEC (ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS) This subdirectory contains data on a variety of measurements and calculated indices of stand characteristics (basal area, density, and competitive indices), climate (temperature, precipitation, and drought), and anthropogenic pollutants (state and regional emissions of SO2 and NOX, ozone monitoring data, and frequency of atmospheric-stagnation episodes and atmospheric haze). The subdirectory contains 26 files, 13 SAS data files and 13 ASCII files. The SAS and ASCII files contain the same information. The following lists each data file and the format and contents of each file. Files related to local environmental conditions. --------------------------------------- A. CLI_CD (Climate, Climate Division) Variable Format Bytes -------- ------ ----- Climatic Division A5 5 State A2 2 Year A4 4 Month A3 3 Temperature R5.1 8 Precipitation R5.1 8 --------------------------------------- Total 30 B. CLI_ST (Climate, State) Variable Format Bytes -------- ------ ----- State A2 2 Year A4 4 Month A3 3 Palmer Drought Index R5 8 Temperature R6.1 8 Precipitation R6.2 8 --------------------------------------- Total 36 C. EMS_ST (Emissions, State) Variable Format Bytes -------- ------ ----- State A2 2 Year A4 4 NOX Emissions R5 8 SO2 Emissions R5 8 --------------------------------------- Tota1 22 D. EMS_CN (Emissions, Centroid) Variable Format Bytes -------- ------ ----- Centroid A2 2 State A2 2 Year A4 4 NOX Emissions R7.2 8 SO2 Emissions R7.2 8 --------------------------------------- Total 24 E. KOR_CN (Korshover Data) Variable Format Bytes -------- ------ ----- Centroid A2 2 State A2 2 Calculation Period A1 1 Korshover Grid Point 1 R3 3 Korshover Grid Point 2 R3 3 Year A4 4 Korshover Stagnation Days R3 8 --------------------------------------- Total 26 F. OZ_CN (Ozone Data, Centroid) Variable Format Bytes -------- ------ ----- Centroid A2 2 State A2 2 Year A4 4 Number of Eligible Days R3 3 Number of Hours Concen- tration > 60 ppb R8.4 8 Number of Hours Concen- tration > 80 ppb R8.4 8 Number of Hours Concen- tration > 100 ppb R8.4 8 Number of Hours Concen- tration > 120 ppb R8.4 8 Seasonal Average from Noon to 7:00 PM R8.4 8 Seasonal Average From 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM R8.4 8 Seasonal Average of the Daily Maximum 7-Hour Averages R8.4 8 --------------------------------------- Total 67 G. CLI_CN_M (Climate, Centroid, Monthly) Variable Format Bytes -------- ------ ----- Centroid A2 2 State A2 2 Year A4 4 Month A3 3 Temperature R6.2 8 No. of 0900 GMT Smoke- Haze Occurrences R3 8 No. of 1200 GMT Smoke- Haze Occurrences R3 8 No. of both 0900 and 1200 GMT Smoke- Haze Occurrences R3 8 --------------------------------------- Total 43 H. CLI_CN_A (Climate, Centroid, Annual) Variable Format Bytes -------- ------ ----- Centroid A2 2 State A2 2 Number of Observed Sky Condition Days R3 8 Number of Clear Days R3 8 Number of Scattered Days R3 8 Number of Broken Days R3 8 Number of Overcast Days R3 8 Total Number of Cloud Observations 6AM-6PM R4 8 Clouds Less Than 610 m R4 8 Clouds Between 610 m and 915 m R4 8 Clouds Between 915 m and 1220 m R4 8 Clouds Between 1220 m and 1524 m R4 8 Clouds Between 1524 m and 1829 m R4 8 Clouds Greater Than 1829 m R4 8 Percent of Clouds With Height Less Than 610 m R6.2 8 Percent of Clouds With Height Between 915 m and 1220 m R6.2 8 Percent of Clouds With Height Between 1220 m and 1524 m R6.2 8 Percent of Clouds With Height Between 1524 m and 1829 m R6.2 8 Percent of Clouds With Height Greater Than 1829 m R6.2 8 Growing Degree Days R4 8 Maximum Number of Consecutive Days Greater Than O d. C R6 8 Maximum 5 Day Average Temperature d. C R6 8 Maximum Shift in 5 Day Average Temperature From Warm to Cold R6 8 --------------------------------------- Total 185 The following files contain tree and stand characteristics. --------------------------------------- A. SITE Variable Format Bytes -------- ------ ----- FORAST Station Code A1 1 Site Number A1 1 Site Name A20 20 Elevation R4 4 Aspect A1 1 Latitude R4 4 Longitude R4 4 State A2 2 Soil Quality Classification A4 4 Disturbance Category R1 1 Climatic Div. Code R4 4 Climatic Div. Name A20 20 Centroid R2 2 Ozone Station Code R5 5 Ozone Station Name A10 10 Haze Measurement Code R5 5 Haze Measurement Name A10 10 Korshover Grid Point 1 R3 3 Korshover Grid Point 2 R3 3 ---------------------------------------- Total 180 B. TREES Variable Format Bytes -------- ------ ------ Species Code A1 1 Species Name A20 20 Species Type Classification A4 4 ---------------------------------------- Total 25 C. SOIL Variable Format Bytes -------- ------ ----- FORAST Station Code A1 1 Site Number A1 1 Species Code A1 1 Tree Number A2 2 A Hor. Ph W R4.1 8 A Hor. Ph B R4.2 8 A Hor. Calcium R4 8 A Hor. Magnesium R4 8 A Hor. Zinc R4 8 A Hor. Manganese R4 8 A Hor. Sulphur R4.2 8 A Hor. Aluminum R4 8 A Hor. Nitrogen R4.2 8 A Hor. Organic Matter R4.1 8 B Hor. Ph W R4.1 8 B Hor. Ph B R4.2 8 B Hor. Calcium R4 8 B Hor. Magnesium R4 8 B Hor. Zinc R4 8 B Hor. Manganese R4 8 B Hor. Sulphur R4.2 8 B Hor. Aluminum R4 8 B Hor. Nitrogen R4.2 8 B Hor. Organic Matter R4.1 8 O Hor. Ph W R4.1 8 O Hor. Ph B R4.2 8 O Hor. Calcium R4 8 O Hor. Magnesium R4 8 O Hor. Zinc R4 8 O Hor. Manganese R4 8 O Hor. Sulphur R4.2 8 O Hor. Aluminum R4 8 O Hor. Nitrogen R4.2 8 O Hor. Organic Matter R4.1 8 --------------------------------------- Total 180 D. COMPETE Variable Format Bytes -------- ------ ----- FORAST Station Code A1 1 Site Number A1 1 Species Code A1 1 Tree Number A2 2 Pith Date R4 4 Diameter Breast Height R5.1 8 Tree Basal Area R5.1 8 Number of Live Point Sample Trees I3 3 Number of Dead Point Sample Trees I3 3 Live Prism Basal Area R5.1 8 Total Prism Basal Area R5.1 8 Live Trees Per Hectare R6.1 8 Total Trees Per Hectare R6.1 8 Actual Live Basal Area in Prism R5 8 Actual Total Basal Area in Prism R5 8 Tree Importance R3.2 8 Live Reineke Stand Density Index R6 8 Total Reineke Stand Density Index R6 8 --------------------------------------- Total 107 E. PRISM Variable Format Bytes -------- ------ ----- FORAST Station Code A1 1 Site Number A1 1 Species Code A1 1 Tree Number A2 2 Number of Dead Trees A1 1 Number of Live Trees R2 2 DBH of Trees 100(R4) 800 (Dead trees first) -------------------------------------- Total 808 CONTENT AND FORMAT OF DATA FILES IN SUBDIRECTORY FORASTS (SPECIES DATA BASE) The FORASTS data base contains a separate file for each species. The FORASTR data base contains a separate file for each region. The record information is the same in each file in both data bases. Each file contains the following variables. Variable Format Bytes -------- ------ ----- FORAST Station Code A1 1 Site Number A1 1 Species Code A1 1 Tree Number A2 2 Core Letter A1 1 State A2 2 Year R4 4 Ring Width Increment F7.2 8 Basal Area Increment F7.2 8 -------------------------------------- Total 28 CONTENT AND FORMAT OF DATA FILES IN SUBDIRECTORY FORASTR (REGION DATA BASE) The FORASTR data base contains a separate file for each region. The FORASTS data base contains a separate file for each species. The record information is the same in each file in both data bases. Each file contains the following variables. Variable Format Bytes -------- ------ ----- FORAST Station Code A1 1 Site Number A1 1 Species Code A1 1 Tree Number A2 2 Core Letter A1 1 State A2 2 Year R4 4 Ring Width Increment F7.2 8 Basal Area Increment F7.2 8 -------------------------------------- Total 28 REFERENCES McLaughlin, S.B., D.J. Downing, T.J. Blasing, B.L. Jackson, D.J. Pack, D.N. Duvick, L.K. Mann, and T.W. Doyle. 1986. FORAST Data Base Documentation. Environmental Sciences Division Pub. 4895, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. McLaughlin, S.B., D.J. Downing, T.J. Blasing, B.L. Jackson, D.J. Pack, D.N. Duvick, L.K. Mann, and T.W. Doyle. 1988. FORAST Data Base Documentation. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Pub. EPA/600/3-87/029a, Corvallis, Oregon.