Welcome to the Minnesota Forest Resources Information Cooperative (MFRIC). The Cooperative is your source for the latest annual forest inventory and monitoring data in the state of Minnesota.

Forest inventories are conducted to record the complex and dynamic characteristics of forests. As a first step in understanding the purpose of forest inventories, visitors are directed to our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section, which describes the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program in terms of how it is conducted, and its precision and accuracy. The Glossary section also provides definitions for terms used throughout this Web site. We note that understanding definitions can be crucial to accurate interpretation.

Under FIA's new annual inventory system for Minnesota, it takes five years of annual sample data collection to complete a full inventory cycle. This Web site presents the annual sample data collection derived from 1999 - 2005.

The 2005 statewide inventory report suggests Minnesota is comprised of 51 million acres of land, 32% of which is forested (i.e., 16.3 million acres). Of the state's forest land, 92% or 14.98 million acres is considered timberland by FIA definition. The state's forest land is approximately a third conifer and two thirds hardwood forest types. The aspen and birch forest types dominate the hardwood portion of the landscape (62.5 million acres or 57% overall).

If you would like to learn more about the general topic of forest inventory methods, see texts such as Avery and Burkhart (2000). If you would like to learn more about the USDA Forest Service FIA program, visit the USDA Forest Service North Central Research Station FIA Web site.