Natural Value Assessment Directly in Icebound Forest

This means you can now conveniently conduct natural value assessments in the same system you use for tract planning and forest management planning. Everything is gathered in one place—simple, efficient, and easy to navigate.

Once you have assessed a tract or a stand, the information is updated automatically. The stand is assigned its conservation score, and the tract is marked as having undergone a natural value assessment. This gives you a clear overview of which areas have been surveyed and which remain—directly on the map and in the planning view.

This makes the assessment of natural values a natural part of daily operations, rather than a separate step—or part of a separate system.

The purpose of the natural value assessment is to identify the area’s potential for biodiversity and to provide a basis for planning measures or designations. The assessment must take into account the habitat requirements of various groups of organisms and consider factors such as:

• topography and soil conditions
• hydrology
• stand climate
• the composition and character of the tree layer
• trees with special characteristics
• various forms of dead wood
• vegetation cover/fertility
• natural disturbance dynamics
• historical use