rFIA: An R package for space-time estimation of forest attributes with the Forest Inventory and Analysis Database
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rFIA is an R package designed to simplify the estimation of forest attributes using the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Database. Specifically, rFIA improves accessibility to the spatio-temporal estimation capacity of the FIA Database via space-time indexed summaries of forest variables within user-defined population boundaries. Direct integration with other popular R packages (e.g., dplyr, sf, and parallel) facilitates efficient space-time query and data summary, and supports common data representations and application programming interface (API). The package implements design-based estimation procedures used by the FIA Program, and has been validated against official estimates and sampling errors produced by the FIA Program. We demonstrate the utility of rFIA by assessing changes in abundance and mortality rates of ash populations in the lower peninsula of Michigan following the establishment of emerald ash borer.
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