USERS'GUIDE TO FEXPERT: FOREST ECOSYSTEM CLASSIFICATION MADE EASY . Payandeh, D. Dukes, and K. Baldwir. Natural Resources Canada Canadian Forest Service-Sault Ste. Marie Great Lakes Forestry Centre Information Report OX-443 This report is printed on paper containing recycled material.
Canadian Crniogutngin Publication Payandeh. Bijan ** M ,o FEXPERT: fore* eaaytfen, class,ficall011 niadc (Informaiion report, ISSN 0832-7122 ; O-X-4431 Includes an abstract in Ranch. Includes bibliographical references ISBN 0-662.22MI8-9 Cat. no. Fo46-14/443E l.Fexpen (Computer file) 2. Fores, ecology - On.ario - Classified - Computer programs ■ -ores,.,,«> quaMty _ omario - Compu.er program, ' ' I. Dukes, D.R. (Darren Rj R. Baldwin, K.A, III. Great Lakes Forestry Centre. IV.
Ste. Marie, Ontario. Inf. Rep. O-X-443. 22 p. + appendix. ABSTRACT to find definitions of classification terms. S5L the NWO FEC keys m, converted to the input wmdows used h FEXPERT. RESUME FEXPERTestun programme informatiqueabasedereglesquiaetemisaupointpour acil'er a plicalion du systeme de classification des ecosystemesforestiers (CE ) du ur n d oUest de 1'Ontano. II foumit la majeure partie des rens.
Disclaimer Natural Resources Canada is the sole owner of FEXPERT The FEXPERT was develop* at Natural Resources Canada, Canadian omTtS SS Mane. The purchaser/recipient may not assert any proprietary ngh the e nor make representations to anyone to the contrary. The software is provided as is without warranty ofany kind, eitherexpressorlimiteri indud.ngg wrthaut limitation warrantees of merchantability and fi.n ss ofa partTJ rtTJ 1; purpose.
How to obtain FEXPERT FEXPERT may be obtained either on 3W diskettes (9) or be downloaded directly from the Internet. Users wishing to receive it on diskettes should contact.the senior author or the Publications Unit, CFS-Sault Ste. Mane. To download FEXPERT from Internet you may proceed with the lollowing steps or equivalent procedures. 1. Connect to the anonymous FTP server: FTP.GLFC.Forestry.Ca 2 Go to the /pub/fexpert directory and download the (27 MB) lile FEXXPERT.
I TABLE of CONTENTS INTRODUCTION GETTING STARTED System Requirements 1 3 Installation USING FEXPERT A GUIDE TO FEXPERT COMMANDS Dialog Boxes 3 7 8 List Menus 9 Search Box 10 The Menu Bar ^ File Menu 12 Classification Menu 12 Setup Menu 12 Help Menu ^ Input Windows 15 Hot Keys ABOUT FEXPERT CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS LITERATURE CITED APPENDIX 1.
INTRODUCTION An effective characterization of siiequality and site condition is very impottantin ecosystem management; therefore, considerable effort has been devoted to the developmeniufForesiEcosySlemClassincati,n(FFX)Sys,em..ThcNorthweslcrn Ontario Forest Ecosystem Classification (NWO FEC) has provided a tool for boreal forest site classification.
2 SZn T T example Drive A. and type: a: 3. Formal ilie floppy disk hy typing: forma) a: /S «ENTER> 4. Copy the following files from your hard drive (usually c;) to the current drive Dy typing: copy c:\autoexec.bat copy c:\config.sys 5" the lT™ TerCditCti lheS" 'Wl> 1J1CS bCfOrC' " '" a g°Od '** Edit coneys file S(I as l0 contain ONLY the drivers ,hnt are essential to vour !!!S™:naKimi/C USC °f High Mcmor^ Area aild lJPPc'" Memory Block use H MEM.sys and EMM386.exe, respectively.
Installation To install FEXFBRT (If ycm have successfully downloaded ,nd uncompressed FEXPERT from the Internet, skip this section): i. Start your computer. 2 3. Insert the disk labelled "Disk 1" into Drive A or B. Type one: of the following at the command prompt: u: or tv. 4. Type the following: install c:Mexpfttt If you prefer to install ihe program in a directory other than c:\fexpcrt.
using Md ^** - S °" Ihc Mn™*1 bar a[ «•■ bottom of the screen Clicking on the green text will ta help .screens Click S31 ve jus! come from. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the help menus. Try clicking s,ng,hchelpw1I1d(,wc|1ckon-"tlh -"t1)closelhe window. i Youeanbrin.. th.s w.ndow back at any time by clicking on Help (,„ the menu bar a, the top of the screen) and then cheking on Introduction in the dropdown menu that nppciirs 4.
This input window will determine the vegetation type (displayed on the bottom two lines of the window) based on data you enter in the section above You will notice that, at the moment, most of the observation fields are marked wilh three dashes. This indicates that information cannot yet he entered in these fields. This window, like the Soil Type window you will sec later, is designed SO thai setting values in fields further up will change the available options in [he fields below them.
in. II La constitutes .he greater cover percentage of any of .he conifer species m he stand .hen the vegetation lype would be V23 as shown in the V number field a, the bottom of the input window. For a more generalised example click on the Stand Mainly" input field (.he grey bareontaining "La") again Forthis example we will assume tha. the main conifer species in [he stand is Cc (Thuja oceidmtalis or eas.ern while cedar). Click on "Ce" from the list menu.
You may also have noticed that the "V number" and "V name" fields changed while you were inputting the above observations. Now the "V number" and "V name" fields should be ■V22" and "Cedar (inc. Mixedwood)/ Speckled Alder/Sphagnum", respectively. All the input fields that don't have "-■" in them are red. You may now view the iaelsheet todclennine if the vegetation type determined by FEXPERT accurately describes your stand classification.
When an iicm in Lhc action menu is highlighted pressing <- > and < - > will allow you io choose among options; pressing will select the command currently highlighted. Pressing while inputting information is the same as selecting (he Rrsi item in the action menu (e.g., "OK"). will cancel whatever command was used to open ihc dialog box and then dose the dialog box. A mouse can be used lo select an action menu command by clicking on thai command.
Search Box The search box is used to find topics in FEXPERTs help sysiem with the HelplSearch command. A typical search box is shown in Figure 5. Figure 5. Typical search box. A search box uses a list menu without ihe arrows at the top and bottom to display the possible help window or picture titles that will satisfy the search. A highlighted bar shows ihe current selection.
The Menu Bar Figure 6 is a diagram of FEXPERTs menu bar. I, shows fce menu title, with then respective menus. File Classification 3etUp Help Menus tf 6. Fl-XPERT* mem, bar and associated menus. The methods used to .elect a menu command adhere to the Common LKer Access command set made popular by Microsoft Windows programs. To select a menu command: • If the menu bar is active (one of i(s items is highlighted), press .he firsi letter of the desired item (f for Files or c for Classification, etc.
File Menu Open Soil Determination The Open Soil Determination command can be used only if no soil determination input window is currently open. Il will display a dialog box prompting for a file name lo open. The escape key «ESC» may be pressed al any lime ta cancel opening a file. You can do any of these: Type in a complete file name and press io open the classification with thai file name. Type in a file name with wildcards (i.e.. * or ?).
Do not use the DOS print command or install any TSR programs while in a DOS shell because memory may be misal located. Quit This command will leave FEXPHRT. if any soil or vegetation classification windows arc open you will be promp!ed lo save them before quitting.
Memory Since FEXPBRT currently requires a large amount of memory, the Help/Memory option will display the amount of free memory. Help Windows Help Windows are used to give you instructions on every aspect of a classification. Figure 7 is a sample help window. Sample Help Window Title Bar This is a sample help window: These are Links to other help windows: Linkl I.ink2 i-inks are b-ight green text (shown her*, as bold faced cext), clicking on them with the rr.ou.e win open another help w.
Move the window by holding down the left mouse button on the title bar and moving the mouse. Releasing the button will place the window », «h, ,,„, Close the help system by clicking on the top left corner of the window. A link to a picture looks the siin,e as a link to a help window, bu, when you c on „ a graphs screen is opened like ,he on, in Figure 8. In addition, the cursor turns inio a white arrow. See Colour Picture View Text Description 1 — :^=^^^^^ Figure 8.
Input Windows Input windows provide an easy way of inputting data into FEXPERT, Figure 9 is a sample input window. Input Window Title Sample InpuC Field Title:..Input Second Field Title: Bar Field 1 - De t erraina c i on- Type name....Sample cype name Type number..Veg or Soil Name Figure 9. Sample input window. Each window displays input field titles (e.g., "Sample Input Field Title") and default values in its gray input fields (e.g.. "Input Field I").
About FEXPERT In the Field Guide lo the Forest Ecosystem Classification for Northwest Ontario, the NWO Ft-C system is described asasystem that can be readily applied to a forest ecosystem in Northwestern Ontario by individuals with some basic knowledge or training in plant identification and field description of fores! soils. There is a twosiagc allocation process: Step I.
Use NWO FEC Shallow Soil Key "Organic layer Pepth "Depth of Mottles / Gley "Texture of C Horizon" Percent Cover of Sphagnum' S12S B "Mineral Soil Depth" Mineral or Organic "Organic Layer Depth' _► soil depth-: W3cm Use NWO FEC Dbbp Soil Key "Depth of Mottles / Giey" HO. Ot,Om,Oh,t.
Start "Stand" Stand Is unlyCnir "Ab a?d FW! nCnir spp rriainhy V'Hardwcod Species'^ V^gr ^;o: Pw Gala Part JB' "* "Conifer 5pp mainly1 YY V2 YYYY V3 V4 VS Y V6 YY V7 V8 YYYY \V9 V10 V11 V12 YYYYYY V13 V14 V15 V1&V17 5IV17 IV1B T V19 Y V20 "Corycor" The group name and the term beside the asterisk (') are the same 0 "Stand Mainly" io- Finos*; to Sphagnum" YYYY V30 V31 V32 V33 V34 \V35 V36 V37 V38 "SvUagmm* The group name and the term beside the asterisk (') are the same Figure
Table 1. Relating Moisture Rflgitne to Depth of Mottlcs/Gley and Texture of C Horizon. Moisture Regime <4 (Dry to Fresh) Texture of C Horizon >4 (Moist 10 We!) Depth of Moilles/Glcy (cm) Depth of Motlles/Gley (cm) LmS.SimS* g>51 orG>91 g<50orG<90 fS.LfS, SifS g>61 orG>121 g<60orG<120 SL. vfS.LvfS, SivfS gS61 orG>151 g<60orG<150 L, SiL, SCL, SiC, C, Si, SiCL, CL. SC* g>61 vcS. cS, LvcS, LcS. SivcS, SicS, mS. G: Deplh of grey Glcy color g: Depth of Monies Table 2.
Table 4. Valid fields and values for ihc Conifer Vegeialion Determination. Field Valid values and ranges Stand Mainly La. Ce, Bf +/or Sw, Prl +/or Pw. Pj, Nol Listed Ratio - Fmoss to Sphagnum Lichen >20%, <20% Bedrock >20%, <20% Sb average height <10m. >10m Alnurug not present, I % to 9%, >10% Sphagnum not present, \% to 9%, >10% Bf(shr) Astemae <10%,>I0% Fmoss <20%, 20% to 49%, >50% <10%,>10% Sb, Sw.
Once all the fields and valid facts were established, the rules thai encapsulate the structure of each of the keys were developed. The rules arc of the form: Soil Type is SI IF-IF: Organic Layer Depth = "0 to 39 cm" Soil Type is S12F-IF: Organic Layer Depth - ">40 cm" and Percent Cover Sphagnum - "<25%" (This is an example from the Deep Soil key; all other keys use similar rules.) This example indicates that some of the information fields were not always required for a classification.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FEXPERT encapsulates the necessary information from the NWO FEC Field Guides forcasy and guided access during aclassincation. By avoiding redundancies, it provides (he quickest route to arrive at a consistent diagnosis. FEXPERT also gives instant access to factsheets so that immediate verification of the classification can he made.
APPENDIX 1. GUIDE TO ABBREVIATIONS From "Field Guide lo the Forest Ecosystem Classification lor Northwestern Ontario" (Sims el al.
24 Can. For. Serv., Inf. Rep.
