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Assisi ResourceTM 2006
Forest Inventory
Assisi Resource is a powerful yet easy to use program for processing forest survey data including timber, down woody debris, vegetation and regeneration. Assisi Resource is a complete data storage and analysis program for analyzing forest survey  data.
Assisi Resource can be used to store and analyze timber, down woody debris, vegetation and regeneration field data, calculate volume and value and create finished reports. Assisi Resource supports a huge variety of sampling designs including variable, fixed and nested plot designs; double sampling using count or big BAF methods and sub sampling with regressions. Volume calculation is very flexible with support for volume tables, volume equations, variable and fixed length logs and a variety of taper equations.
Version 2006 is our latest version which greatly increases its feature set while becoming even easier to use.
 Flexible Sample Designs
Sampling designs are now more flexible than ever with support for nested plots, double sampling, sub sampling, permanent plot and stratified designs. Creating sample designs is straightforward using the Cruise Design Editor. |
Sampling Designs describe the layout of survey points in the landscape where measurements of trees and other forest objects are recorded. The sample design greatly influences how field data is processed and the accuracy of results.
Create sample designs using the Cruise Design Editor |
Assisi products support a huge variety of sampling designs including variable, fixed, percentage and nested plot designs, double sampling using count plot or big BAF methods and permanent plot designs. Sample designs are composed of sub plots where each sub plot can have a different shape, size and type of field measurements recorded on them.
Creating cruise designs is straight forward using the Cruise Design Editor. Easily navigate to any cruise design and sub plot quickly. Create new cruise designs from existing ones using copy and paste. Enter sub plot locations for permanent plot inventories. After a cruise design is created, it is assigned to cruise using a simple drop down box.
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Examples of Cruise Designs
20 BAF Variable with 10 ft Fixed Radius Plots - Record larger diameter trees using a prism and smaller diameter trees using a fixed plot.
20/40 BAF Plots - Record certain species at a higher sampling intensity using a second prism.
Double Sampling - Use one prism for tree measurements and another for tree counts.
Nested Plots for Non Timber Sampling - Use variable and fixed plots for timber measurements. Use a second set of fixed plots for regeneration. Record vegetation cover on a third set of fixed plots. Record course woody debris using line transects.
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Percentage Cruise
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A percentage of the stand is sampled.
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| Fixed Radius Plots |
One or more circular plots with a fixed radius are sampled within a stand. |
| Variable Radius Plots |
One or more plots with variable radius are sampled within a stand. Trees are sampled using a prism with known basal area factor (BAF). Variable plots with two BAFs are supported. |
| Nested Plots |
One or more plots composed of one variable radius plot and up to three fixed radius plots are sampled within a stand. Each subplot shares the same center |
| Double Sampling |
Volume samples are combined with BA samples to improve the statistical confidence of volume estimates. Assisi products support both the count plot and big BAF methods of double sampling. |
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Complete Volume Calculation
Volume calculation is very flexible with support for volume tables, volume equations, user defined taper, variable and fixed length logs. Volume can be calculated for whole trees, logs or distributed to logs using percentages. Volume is quoted in board, cubic and user defined using. Tallies include total, gross and net. |
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Volume calculation is a very diverse process. Volume may be calculated for whole trees, individual logs, snags or downed wood. Volume may be calculated using equations, look up tables or percentage distributions. Volume calculation may require taper functions, tree heights, diameters, log counts or estimation equations. Assisi products support a huge variety of volume calculation methods for a diverse number of regions.
Volume Methods
Volume methods describe the calculation method used to estimate the volume of timber. Volume methods include log segmenting where the volumes of individual logs are estimated and volume equations and tables where whole tree volumes are estimated. Volume methods are set up on a per species basis where each species uses a different method of volume calculation.
| Log Segmenting |
Log segmenting estimates the volume in a tree by segmenting each tree into logs. The volume in a tree is the sum of the volumes from each segmented log. Log lengths may be fixed or variable length (called in the field). If fixed, Assisi will segment each tree into logs of a user-defined length and use distribution tables to estimate the volume of individual logs from whole tree volumes. If variable, Assisi uses log lengths called in the field and a diameter equation to estimate log volume directly. |
| Volume Equations |
Volume equations use an equation based on tree attributes such as DBH, total height and crown ratio to estimate the volume of the whole tree. Assisi supports many volume equations and can use equations entered by the end user. |
| Volume Tables |
Volume tables are tables of volumes listed by species, DBH, and total height. The volume of a tree is looked up in volume tables using a tree's species, DBH and total height as a key. |
All Assisi programs support comprehensive volume calculation methods. Use volume tables, volume equations, taper equations, sub sampling and flexible scaling rules. Assisi cruise programs support fixed and variable length logs, sub sampling with regression. Volumes are quoted in board, cubic and user defined units such as weight or cord measures. Volume is tallied by total (whole tree), gross (merchantable sections) and net (merch minus defect).
Tree Shapes and Taper Equations
Tree shapes describe the method used to calculate diameters at different heights along a tree stem. Diameters at various points along the main tree stem are often necessary when calculating log volumes and merchandising to different heights. Tree shapes are often called taper equations. Assisi supports methods in addition to taper equations for calculating diameters so we refer to the method of calculating tree and log diameters as a "tree shape" reflecting the inclusion of these other methods. Log diameters can also be directly recorded in the field if desired.
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Behre
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From stump to breast height, tree is cylindrical with diameter of DBH. From breast height to top of first log, tree is cylindrical with diameter of top of first log. From top of first log to merch height, diameter is described using the Behre Hyperbola. DBH, height and diameter of first log and merch height and diameter are required.
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| Walters & Hann |
From stump height to breast height, tree is described using the equation for a neiloid frustum. From breast height to total height, diameter is calculated using a segmented polynomial taper equation (Walters & Hann 1986). DBH, total height are required. Height to crown base is suggested. |
| Kozac |
Diameters are calculated using the Kozac taper equation (Kozac 1988). Typically DBH and total height are measured in the field. |
| Taper Profile |
From stump height to breast height, tree is cylindrical with diameter of DBH. From breast height to total height, diameter is described by a table of 21 diameter points. Each diameter point gives the height (expressed as a percentage of height above breast height) at a given diameter (expressed as a percentage of DBH). DBH, taper height (height to 80% of DBH) and total height are required. |
| Cone |
From stump to total height, diameter is described as a cone with base diameter of DBH. Either total height, merch height or both can be used to calculate taper. |
| Log |
Tree is described by DBH and the logs present in the main stem. Log log tree shape is often used when only a count of fixed length logs is made in the field. DBH and log count are required. |
| User Defined |
User defined tree shape allows a custom equation to be entered for both diameter and height calculations. The equation can be complex functions of a large number of mathematical, tree and stand terms. |
Sub Sampling
Sub sampling is a method of increasing the precision of a estimate using measurements related to but easier to make than a primary measure. Tree estimates such as height or form point are common measurements whose precision can be increased using a sub sample of a related measure such as DBH . Assisi supports estimation of total, merch and form point using sub samples of DBH and regression. Assisi can also estimate measurements using user defined equations.
Volume Units
Volume units are quoted in three types each calculated simultaneously.
| Board Foot |
Scribner, Scribner Decimal C, International 1/4 Inch, International 1/4 Inch Decimal, Doyle, Brereton. |
| Cubic Foot |
Two End Conic, Newton, Smalian, Huber, Subneiloid |
| User Defined |
Enter your own equation and units label. Equations can be functions of tree and log dimensions as well as site index and complex math functions. |
Volume Tallies
Volumes are tallied into total gross and net tallies. Each have criteria that can be set such as minimum log length, diameter and volume and defect.
| Total |
Total volume includes volume from tree stump to tree tip. |
| Gross |
Gross volume includes volume from the merchantable portion of the tree: typically from tree stump to merch height. |
| Net |
Net volume is gross volume discounted by defect and deductions. Defect may be expressed as a percentage defect on the tree, on individual logs or as length and diameter deductions. |
Custom Scaling
Assisi can scale a tree using both merch height and scaling height. Merch height may be measured in the field or calculated as the sum of log heights. Scaling height is the height to an arbitrary minimum scaling diameter and can be different than merch height. When log segmenting is being used with either variable length or Assisi segmented logs, Assisi can scale a tree to the scaling height to give a different estimate of volume than if scaled to the merch height. Custom scaling is sometimes used when scaling standards have changed since trees were measured.
Default Values
Assisi products include extensive support for default values. Measurement such as form point height and diameters, merch height and diameters and form factors can be set on a species or stand and species basis. If measured in the field, the field measurements will be used.
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Comprehensive Field Measurements
Field measurements are extensive with support for DBH, total, merch and crown heights, form and taper points, fixed and variable length logs, growth measurements, silvicultural and defect measurements and tree locations. Trees can be tagged as off plot, snag, site or count trees. And if Assisi does not have the field you need, then simply add it to the database.
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Field measurements are the actual measurements made on trees, course wood, regeneration, vegetation and any other forest object. Field measurements are repeated in each plot then averaged across plots to give an estimate for a stand or strata as a whole. The type and amount of measurements made is dependent on the objectives of the cruise and the accuracy level desired.
Tree Measurements
Assisi products support a huge variety of tree measurements including DBH, total, merch and crown heights, form point, taper point, log length, diameter, count and grade, merch and scaling diameters, growth measurements, silvicultural and defect measurements and location settings. Trees can be tagged as off plot, snag, site or count trees. Injury measurements include damage, severity, decay, fungus, bark coverage, dead limbs and top damage. Growth measurements include both radial and height and tree locations can be recorded. If Assisi does not have a field you need, then simply add it to the database.
Sub Sampling
Sub sampling is a method of increasing the precision of a estimate using measurements related to but easier to make than a primary measure. Tree estimates such as height or form point are common measurements whose precision can be increased using a sub sample of a related measure such as DBH . Assisi supports estimation of total, merch and form point using sub samples of DBH and regression. Assisi can also estimate measurements using user defined equations.
Adding Custom Fields to the Database
If you are collecting data that does not fit well into existing Assisi database fields, then you can simply add the field to the appropriate table in the Assisi database. Assisi won't be able to recognize the field in its internal calculations, but it will import data for the field from handheld data collector files. See the discussion on Data Editing for more.
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Down Woody Debris, Vegetation and Regeneration Surveys
Assisi Resource and Assisi Resource process non timber field measurements such as Down Woody Debris, Vegetation and Regeneration. Non timber measurements can be made on their own sub plots with unique sizes and locations.
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Assisi Inventory and Assisi Resource support surveys of course woody debris, vegetation and regeneration as well as timber surveys.
Regeneration Surveys
Regeneration is typically collected separately from timber. Regeneration are small trees that are established but may still be lost during thinning either natural or by man. Assisi supports measuring regeneration on distinct sub plots using tallies similar to tree measurements such as: species, DBH, height, count and crown.
Down Woody Debris Surveys
Down woody debris measurements are taken on trees that have fallen and are at some stage in their decay cycle. DWD typically is collected using transects. Measurements include both actual and transect diameters, decay class, fungi and volume. Transects can be any length and number and at any regular or random angles. Volume can be calculated using cross sectional area or from direct piece volume.
Vegetation Surveys
Vegetation are typically plant species that compose ground cover or that do not compete with grown trees for canopy space. These often include, grasses, shrubs and herbs. Vegetation measurements can be made on distinct sub plots and include species, height and percent cover.
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Calibrations
Species, volume, growth and other settings can now be organized into a convenient system that can be assigned to individual cruises. The Calibration Editor makes setting up different calibrations for different regions simple.
Calibrations in Assisi are the collection of settings for volume calculations, taper equations, volume tables, growth settings, site indexes, defaults for species and many other settings. Calibrations are usually set up for each distinct forestry region where volume or growth may be unique between species.
Calibrations
Assisi calibrations hold a huge variety of settings in a convenient hierarchy of species. Calibrations provide a single place to store all the options for calibrating volume, equations and more to each species in your region. Calibrations are used by assigning them to a cruise. Each species within the cruise will reference settings in the calibration when calculating volume and more. Each cruise can have its own calibration or share calibrations with other cruises. There can be any number of calibrations and any number of species within a calibration. Calibrations can be easily imported and exported among Assisi databases.
Calibrate Assisi to many regions using the Calibration Editor. |
Calibration Editor
The Calibration Editor is the tool to create, modify and navigate through all the settings specific to species and region. Calibrations have settings that are both common to species and specific to species. Species specific settings cover settings for everything from measurement defaults to volume equations, taper functions and volume tables.
The complex settings are organized into tabs that are easily identified. You can quickly navigate to any calibration and species to check its settings or make changes to how volume, growth and other functions are calculated. The Calibration Editor can import and export calibrations among Assisi databases easily. Calibrations can be copied to create new ones and species copied or moved among calibrations using drag and drop.
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Example Calibration Settings
Log Scaling - Settings include scaling rule, diameter multiples for DBH classes, fixed log lengths, minimum scaling diameter, stump height and whether heights are measured relative to stump or ground, trim settings and whether trim was included in field measurements.
Volume Calculation - Board, cubic and user defined units are quoted in total, gross and net tallies. Criteria such as min DBH and snag settings, min log diameter and length, min volume and max defect are used to determine how volumes are tallied in total, gross and net tallies.
Sub Sampling, Growth and DWD - Settings include sub sampling regression methods, growth models, height, DBH and mortality prediction equations. Growth and prediction equations can be calibrated using stand and species level factors. DWD volume can be calculated using actual or intersected diameter or piece volume methods.
Species Level Settings - At the species level there are volume tables, taper functions, volume equations, site index equations and more. Many settings made at the calibration level can be overridden on a species basis as well as on a stand and species basis. Defaults can be set up for merch diameters, form factors, site index and more.
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User Defined Equations
Equations for many function such as volume, growth mortality, taper, height site index can be completely defined by the user using a variety of tree and stand level variables.
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Powerful Data Editing
Field data is easily input using either data input forms, table entry or imported from handheld data collectors. Additional fields and tables can even be added to the database and Assisi will import them from your handheld files.
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Data editing is one the most important aspects of any forestry program. Field data can be collected in a variety of ways including on field data cards or in data collectors. Field data may also exist in other databases or spreadsheets. Whether your field data is on cruise cards, data collectors, spreadsheets or already exists in another database, Assisi programs provide unparalleled power for entering your data.
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Edit Using Forms or Tables
If you collect your data using data entry cards, the Inventory Editor provides a straight forward way of entering data using either form or table entry. The Inventory Editor has an easy to use navigator for locating any piece of field data fast. Cut copy and paste any node using drag and drop. Edit data using smart defaults, keyboard shortcuts, drop down selections, sorting and grouping. Data can even be easily imported and exported to other Assisi databases with simple button clicks. |
Edit data using Forms
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Edit data using Tables
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Import data from handheld data collectors using the Data Importer tool. |
Handheld Data Import
Assisi can import data from most handheld data recorders. The Data Import tool will load your data collector files, assign default values, check for errors and import data into one or more Assisi tables simultaneously. The Data Importer uses a very flexible comma delimited format known as a CSV file. If your data collector creates CSV files or you can get your data into a spreadsheet form, then Assisi can probably import it.
If you are collecting field data you want stored in your own custom fields, just add the fields to the inventory database. Custom fields can be added to the field data tables and Assisi will import data for them along with the standard fields from handheld data files.
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Use Microsoft Access to access your data outside of Assisi products. |
Edit Using Microsoft Access
Because Assisi stores is data in a Microsoft Access database, you can use any of the standard Access methods of loading and changing data. Access provides one of the easiest to use interfaces for entering or importing data from other sources. If Assisi does not have what you need, make your own data entry forms, queries or reports using Microsoft Access.
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Detailed Reports
Reports are exportable to PDF, text, Excel and word processing formats. They can be filtered on many different fields and include extensive statistics for both stratified and non stratified inventories.
Assisi products include a variety of well formatted reports. Many reports have filters so that you can filter on species, grades, silvicultural codes and more. All reports can be saved to PDF, Excel, Text, RTF or TIFF files for easy emailing or incorporating into other documents.
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Volume Reports 
Volume reports show statistics both across plots and across stands or strata. Individual plots can be selected for inclusion or exclusion in the statistics so that the effect of grouping related strata on sampling statistics can be seen. Stands are treated as strata so that averages that cross stands are processed using stratified statistics. |
Market Reports 
Market reports include reports of graded volumes. Grades provide a mechanism of attaching value to tree volume. Grades are grouped into products and products into markets. Market reports include a volume by grade, product and market. |
Other Reports
Growth Reports - Measured and simulated growth for each tree. Accretion and mortality reports.
Down Woody Debris - Volume and diameter statistics by decomposition class.
Regeneration - Diameter, height and TPA statistics by species, height growth and sub plot.
Vegetation - Percent cover and height by species.
Snag - Volume and density by species, DBH, damage severity and decay class.
Field Data Reports - Field data reports include listings of measured trees, regeneration, down woody debris and vegetation. Along with notes that may have been entered. |
Reports by Product
| Field Data |
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| Cruise Designs |
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| Sampling Summary |
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| Stand Summary |
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| Stand Table |
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| Stocking |
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| Snags |
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| Age Class |
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| Market Summary |
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| Market Crosstab |
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| Grade Summary |
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| Grade Crosstab |
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| Sort Summary |
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| Down Woody Debris |
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| Regeneration |
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| Vegetation Summary |
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| Vegetation Detail |
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| Harvest Unit |
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| Simulated Growth |
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| Measured Growth |
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Open Database Design
Assisi Resource remains as accessible as ever, using the easy to use Microsoft Access database system to store all its data. Use the full power of Access whenever Assisi Resource does not have exactly what you want.
Assisi products store their data in a separate file in the easy to use Microsoft Access format. Both field data and compilation results are stored in the database. Your data is always available to for import or export to other programs.
Microsoft Access
Access is a widely used database that provides database power while being easy to use. With data in Access, you can use all the Access tools to create forms, reports, queries and do any other analysis that Assisi doesn't currently do.
An open database design also gives you complete access to your data at any time. We recognize Assisi may not provide all the tools you need. With Assisi's open database design you can be assured that your data is available for use by other systems.
Database Design
Assisi Software takes special pride in the design of its databases. Assisi databases are carefully designed to ensure a high level of data integrity while being easy to use with understandable table and field names. The database layout is clear and consistent, making it easier for you to get directly at the data you want when you need to. Through appropriate table keys and relationships the database itself practically eliminates the possibility of duplicate and orphaned records.
Database Files
Storing data in an external database allows you to create any number of data files. You can organize your data files along with other files on a per project basis. Or use one database per tract or combine tracts into a single database. The choice is yours.
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