Assessment Area Data

The Assessment Area Data File contains common practice carbon stock estimates for the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Assessment Areas areas across the United States, mill efficiency data for harvested wood products and FIA supersection maps of the U.S. forest regions. These documents are available independent of the protocol and can be downloaded below.

Document/Tool Description
Description of FIA Assessment Areas Assessment areas are used in the Climate Action Reserve’s (Reserve) Forest Protocol (FP) to provide standardized regional data for project development. An assessment area is generally defined as a forest vegetation community that shares common environmental, economical, and regulatory attributes.
Batch 2.2
Assessment Area Data File (October 16, 2019)		 The data provided in the Assessment Area Data File are used for project calibration of:

  1. NEW: Basal Area Reference Value – a metric of average basal area across an assessment area, used as an input to the Standardized Baseline Screening Tool
  2. Common Practice – a metric of average management performance used as a tool to determine baselines in IFM projects.
  3. Composition of Native Species – a metric used to assess the maximum percentage of basal area in any one particular native species within the project area.
  4. Rotation Length – A metric used to calculate eligibility for reforestation projects.
  5. Value of Harvest – A metric used to calculate eligibility for reforestation projects.
  6. Wood Products Generated and Mill Efficiencies – Default values for estimating the percentage of a project’s harvest that goes to various wood products classes.
Batch 2.0
Assessment Area Data File (February 2, 2018)		 The data provided in the Assessment Area Data File are used for project calibration of:

  1. Common Practice – a metric of average management performance used as a tool to determine baselines in IFM projects.
  2. Composition of Native Species – a metric used to assess the maximum percentage of basal area in any one particular native species within the project area.
  3. Rotation Length – A metric used to calculate eligibility for reforestation projects.
  4. Value of Harvest – A metric used to calculate eligibility for reforestation projects.
  5. Wood Products Generated and Mill Efficiencies – Default values for estimating the percentage of a project’s harvest that goes to various wood products classes.
Batch 1.1
Assessment Area Data File (July 3, 2012)		 The data provided in the Assessment Area Data File are used for projects located in Alaska and Hawaii for calibration of:

  1. Common Practice – a metric of average management performance, by site class in some cases, used as a tool to determine baselines in IFM projects.
  2. Composition of Native Species – a metric used to assess the maximum percentage of basal area in any one particular native species within the project area.
  3. Fire Risk Rating – The default fire risk rating for calculating the contribution to the buffer pool.
  4. Rotation Length – A metric used to calculate eligibility for reforestation projects.
  5. Value of Harvest – A metric used to calculate eligibility for reforestation projects.
  6. Wood Products Generated – Default values for estimating the percentage of a project’s harvest that goes to various wood products classes.
Batch 1.0
Assessment Area Data File (October 10, 2010)		 The data provided in the Assessment Area Data File are used for project calibration of:

  1. Common Practice – a metric of average management performance, by site class in some cases, used as a tool to determine baselines in IFM projects.
  2. Composition of Native Species – a metric used to assess the maximum percentage of basal area in any one particular native species within the project area.
  3. Fire Risk Rating – The default fire risk rating for calculating the contribution to the buffer pool.
  4. Rotation Length – A metric used to calculate eligibility for reforestation projects.
  5. Value of Harvest – A metric used to calculate eligibility for reforestation projects.
  6. Wood Products Generated – Default values for estimating the percentage of a project’s harvest that goes to various wood products classes.
Mill Efficiency Data (February 2, 2010) The mill efficiency data are the default data used in the Harvested Wood Products Calculation Worksheet.
Supersection Overview Map (February 2, 2010)  
Supersections North Central (February 2, 2010) A map of Supersections by geographic area in the United States to be used as a reference to assist in determining the project’s Assessment Area.
Supersections Northwest (February 2, 2010) A map of Supersections by geographic area in the United States to be used as a reference to assist in determining the project’s Assessment Area.
Supersections Northeast (February 2, 2010) A map of Supersections by geographic area in the United States to be used as a reference to assist in determining the project’s Assessment Area.
Supersections Southeast (February 2, 2010) A map of Supersections by geographic area in the United States to be used as a reference to assist in determining the project’s Assessment Area.
Supersections Southwest (February 2, 2010) A map of Supersections by geographic area in the United States to be used as a reference to assist in determining the project’s Assessment Area.
Supersection Alaska (April 29, 2019) A map of Supersections by geographic area in the United States to be used as a reference to assist in determining the project’s Assessment Area.
Supersection Hawaii (April 29, 2019) A map of Supersections by geographic area in the United States to be used as a reference to assist in determining the project’s Assessment Area.
GIS Supersection Shape File A GIS shapefile that can be downloaded for use with GIS software to assist in identifying the Supersection(s) the project is in.
GIS Supersection Alaska Shape File (July 25, 2018) A GIS shapefile that can be downloaded for use with GIS software to assist in identifying the Supersection(s) the project is in.
GIS Supersection and Assessment Area Shape File – Hawaii (July 18, 2018) A GIS shapefile that can be downloaded for use with GIS software to assist in identifying the Supersection(s) the project is in.