UFORE data entry problems

[abertssquirrel]

hello,

my crew and i have been trying to enter our UFORE paper data into the actual UFORE shell (version 1.2), and have been having several problems that prevent us from saving our data or entering it properly.

problems
1. what should we do if we ID a species that isn't on the drop down menu (we recieve error messages if we simply type in the species).

2. the ufore manual says it is ok to ID to only genus (which we did in our shrub layer, and many dead trees), but the software won't save unless we go to species (we even tried entering some of the species codes listed in the manual that just specify a genus).

3. in the general plot info, why does the %tree/shrub/plantable space have to total to less than or equal to 100%? We are sampling an old growth forest, and there is much overlap within the shrub and tree layer.

4. also, in the shub info, why does the total % shrub have to be less than or equal to 100%. We have multiple layers of shrub that overlap, wouldn't it make more sense for the total to be greater than or equal to 100%?

any insights would be greatly appreciated! thanks

-janelle

[StormyJerry]

We've been discussing your post with the FS people in Syracuse to be able to provide a complete set of answers:

1) There is no mechanism at the moment to add species to the database, though it is being worked on. The best we offer for now is to suggest that you select a species that is similar in mature height and crown shape and leaf size and thickness. This will allow the new species to be included in UFORE's functional reporting, but you will not have any structural information on it.

2) Ditto the above. This is easier to fix, and will likely be in the next mid-cycle release.

3) Try to keep in mind that you are trying to represent for calculation an aerial, nearly two-dimensional view of the plot.

4) We used to allow the shrub cover to be greater than 100 percent to account for the multiple layers, but we found that it was confusing to the surveyors. We changed it to simplify data collection, and have rarely encountered shrub layers that were overhanging each other to a degree that had a significant effect on the calculations.

Hope this helps.

[abertssquirrel]

thanks, that helps a bunch!