46% forested*

Rhode Island has an estimated 361,127 acres of forest land. * Percent forest is forest area/total area. Percent forest with water removed from total area is 53%.

This resource update is a brief look at some of the basic

metrics that describe the status of and changes to forest

resources in Rhode Island. This information is based on field

data collected using the USDA Forest Service Forest

Inventory and Analysis (FIA) annualized sample design, and

it is updated yearly.

Area of forest land

(million acres)

Number of live trees

on forest land

(billion trees)

Volume of live trees

on forest land

(billion cubic feet)

2014

0.37

0.36

0.17

0.15

0.88

0.90

2019

Private

69.90%

Forest land ownership

1,003 acres of nonforest

revert back to forest annually*

1,625 acres of forest land 0 acres of forest land

convert annually* to nonforest are disturbed annually* by fire

3,553 acres of forest land 0 acres of forest land

are treated by cutting are disturbed annually* by weather events

(harvest, thinning, etc.) annually*

Rhode Island has 229.0 sample plots across the State, of

which 130.0 are currently forested. Each year, about 10-20

percent of these plots are visited and measured by field

crews. Data used in this update were accessed from the FIA

database on 09/17/2020.

State and

Local

30.10%

Annual Net Change

5

Annual Removals

5

Annual Mortality

9

Annual Gross Growth 19

All live (million cubic feet)

USDA Forest Service - Forest Inventory & Analysis

The estimates presented are based on data retrieved from the FIA database (09/17/2020) and may not reflect the most recent data available from the FIA

program. Note – this publication does not include estimates of uncertainty. The most current data and sampling error for the estimates above can be found

by visiting https://www.fia.fs.fed.us/.

*Average annual estimates are based on data collected across 5-10 years and may not be indicative of the nominal year presented in the title by itself.

Forests of

Rhode Island, 2019
	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	

How to cite this publication

USDA Forest Service. 2020. Forests of Rhode Island, 2019. Resource Update FS-242. Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest

Service. 2p. https://doi.org/10.2737/FS-RU-242 .

Archived Versions

This report and archived past versions can be found on the USDA Forest Service publication database, Treesearch using keywords "Forest

Inventory" and "Rhode Island" here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/.

National Woodland Owner Survey

The National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) collects and reports on multiple attributes of forest land ownership. Details of the NWOS program can be

found here: https://www.fia.fs.fed.us/nwos/.

The most recent NWOS Factsheet for Rhode Island can be found here: https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/52402/.

Additional Resources

The application that produced this resource update was developed using data from the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis database

(FIADB): https://apps.fs.usda.gov/fia/datamart/datamart_excel.html .

Tables for Rhode Island, 2019 can be found here: https://doi.org/10.2737/FS-RU-242-Tables

The FIA one-click application can be found here: https://doi.org/10.2737/FIA-One-Click-State-Report-v1.2

Bechtold, W.A.; Patterson, P.L., eds. 2005. The enhanced Forest Inventory and Analysis program—national sampling design and estimation procedures.

Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS–80. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 85 p.

https://doi.org/10.2737/SRS-GTR-80 .

NOTE: Some of the above links will not be active until the resource update has been approved for official publication.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Forests of

Rhode Island, 2019