Botanist from Michigan

[gjschmidt]

Hello, I am Greg. Measuring trees and estimating vegetation structure by species for the soil survey in western Michigan is my day job. I lead hikes every spring in the GSMNP and always carry a DBH tape. My metric DBH tape always throws foresters off, because the increments of cm DBH looks a great deal like straight inches, and vice versa.

[dbhguru]

Greg

Welcome aboard. Maybe you can connect up with Will Blozan, the NTS president. He could show your group trees that define the limits of growth form the species. Do you possess a laser rangefinder and clinometer?

Bob

[gjschmidt]

Sadly to say, I have only an analog clinometer and a tape. Last year was the first year that I began using it regularly for the NRCS, and I am well aware of the potential error of finding the top correctly. I am not sure if my employer would buy a rangefinder in the near term. I was temped to use a clinometer on a backcountry hike in the Smokies for what was perported to be the largest chestnut oak (south of Cades Cove), but I didn't want to hold up the group while I unrolled the tape. Ken Wise was on that hike; I think that he said that he knew Will Blozan. I'll be there again for the Annual Wildflower Pilgrimmage next month.

[gjschmidt]

I have just acquired a Nikon Forestry PRO Laser Rangefinder/Hypsometer.
http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/produ ... mnum=91140


A new world of forest stratum height is opened up to me. It has a choice of 1st hit and last hit, and can do either a "sin" based measure or traditional "tan" based measure.

[dbhguru]

Greg,

Yes I have a Nikon Forestry Pro along with the older Forestry 550. The biggest challenge with these instruments is shooting through clutter. It takes a long time to acquire the most distant target even when on farthest mode. The best instrument is the LTI TruPulse 200X. It has a gate function that allows you to ignore closer clutter. The gate function is incredibly valuable.

Bob