The Stem Decay and Bole Wounding Event Monitor is a program that reports the simulated effects of heart rot after partial harvest of old-growth or commercial thinning of hemlock, spruce and cedar in Alaska within the confines of the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS).  Once a management action is scheduled and performed in FVS, the following event monitor variables are calculated for target species; trees per acre 1” or greater, number of wounded trees (by species), volume of decay in cubic feet (by species), volume of stain and decay in cubic feet (by species).

The Stem Decay and Bole Wounding Event Monitor files and Stem Decay and Bole Wounding Event Monitor Users Guide may be downloaded by clicking the following link. The file is a WinZip® self-extracting file. Download the file to your PC. Extract the files contents by double-clicking it. The default extraction directory is C:\Fvsdata\BWem.

• Stem Decay and Bole Wounding Event Monitor (BW_em.exe, 125 KB)

There are two types of Stem Decay and Bole Wounding keyword component (.kcp) addfiles appropriate for use with the Alaska (AK) variant of FVS.  Users who wish to simulate the effects of the Stem Decay and Bole Wounding should use OG_Decay.kcp when simulating partial harvest of old growth spruce, cedar and hemlock stands or CT_Decay.kcp when simulating commercial thinning of spruce, cedar and hemlock stands.  The user is strongly urged to apply the correct Event Monitor file to the appropriate stands.  This is best achieved by creating geographically homogenous FVS simulations through creative use of FVS grouping codes. 

Potential users of the Stem Decay and Bole Wounding Event Monitor include, but are not limited to, forest planners conducting large-scale, program-level assessments of forest development, silviculturists, and wildlife habitat managers conducting project level analyses for forest management, forest health professionals, commercial foresters, and private land owners seeking to the manage the effects of stem decay in hemlock/spruce forests of southeast Alaska.  These specialists may attempt to minimize stem decay for timber values, maximize it for wildlife habitat or succession, or simply to document the amount.  The event monitor was designed to use with injuries caused by logging wounds but it could also be used to predict wood decay development by other tree wounding agents such as porcupines.  It is intended for use by those familiar with the proper use and execution of the Forest Vegetation Simulator.  It is recommended that the user be well versed in interpretation of standard FVS output.  Standard FVS output and variables specific to the Event Monitor (such as: SS_TPA, YC_TPA, RC_TPA, WH_TPA, MH_TPA) can be exported to spreadsheet programs for further analyses.

The desired Stem Decay and Bole Wounding Event Monitor must be added to the simulation, preferably after one or more stands have been selected for use within FVS and a management action has been scheduled.  From the Selections window in the Suppose interface: 

1. Click the “Edit Simulation File” button. 
2. Click the “Insert from file” button. 
3. Navigate to the location where you placed the Stem Decay and Bole Wounding Event Monitor File(s).  Select the appropriate Event Monitor file from the Insert component from file: window. 
4. Note: Double-clicking the correct filename will automatically add the Event Monitor to the selected stand(s) in question.  Single-click selection requires the user to then hit the “Open” button to add the Event Monitor to the simulation. 
5. Note that the addfile now is associated with the stand(s) in question. 
6. “Close” the Edit Simulation window. 
7. Choose the post-processor that best fits your needs and run your simulation after giving it an appropriate name.  Standard FVS post-processors include; View Main Output file, SVS for Windows, Compute1 – Table of Compute Variables (with Headers), Compute2 – Table of Concatenated Compute Variables (comma delimited).  See next section for more information on post-processors.