New interactive guide tells the story of forest products in the South

Using Forest Service Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data loaded onto the Esri (Environmental Systems Research Institute) ArcGIS Online (AGOL) platform, Southern Forest Products -- An Economic Engine, provides a constantly updated guide to southern timber product outputs and the mills that process them, as well as showing change over the past decades.

"This is the first of a suite of AGOL-based storymaps we're developing using FIA data," said Chris Oswalt, research forester with the Forest Service Southern Research Station FIA unit. "The storymap platform allows us to tell a more captivating story, which increases the reach of the data and engages partners we haven't worked with before."

The Southern Products storymap uses layers of maps to show total outputs of different forest products -- hardwood and softwood roundwood, sawlogs, pulpwood, and veneer -- down to the county level. Users can access layers already developed for a product, and map information for specific products at the county, state, and region levels.

"From the storymap, a user can download the FIA data and layers in different formats such as maps and pdfs that can be used in presentations and other communication products," said Oswalt. "In addition to telling a story, the interface helps us provide the current information our industry, state, and other partners are already asking for in a format they can adapt to their own purposes."

The storymap includes a layer on primary wood processing in the South that allows the user to click on an individual mill for information on the type of wood mix (hardwood or softwood) used. The user can also click on each state for information on the number of mills and the number of people employed in wood processing mills in that state, as well as links to FIA harvest and utilization reports. The layer also includes a link to the mill directory developed and maintained by the Southern Group of State Foresters.

"This AGOL product will go a long way in promoting the valuable data that FIA collects in order to monitor forest products in and around the region" said forester James Bentley, who leads the FIA Timber Product Output (TPO) group. "We hope to use the functionality of the AGOL platform to increase the visibility of our TPO data and highlight the strength of our relationships with the state forestry agencies in the southern region."

A special set of maps in Southern Forest Products illustrates the decline in number of mills operating in southern states in the period since FIA started collecting data. Another set of maps tells the story of how wood flows from one state to another, with statistics for each state on production versus amount retained within the state.

"These maps illustrate the storytelling power of using FIA data with AGOL," said Oswalt. "Southern Forest Products charts the history of southern forest products, mills, and the people who depend on them, as well as forecasting changes in areas such as bioenergy. One of the great strengths of the AGOL platform is the ability to update or generate new maps as soon as data is updated or added."

View Southern Forest Products -- An Economic Engine at http://srsfia2.fs.fed.us/tpo/sfpi.html