Silva PerpetuaGuides

Choose methods and set targets

Pick the method for each topic — the one designed for the stand’s region is recommended — and set the objective each topic is judged against, with a live preview and a what-if on your latest visit.

For
Consultant foresters
Time
10 minutes per stand
Where
Web app — Stand › Plan & evidence › Methods & targets
Updated
On this page

Each topic — stand data, biodiversity, deadwood, regeneration, browsing, health, windblow, post-harvest, establishment — is measured by one method per stand. The method decides what the field app asks for and how the result is scored. The objective is the target the result is judged against.

Before you start
  • The stand has a boundary (or at least its property has a country). Without one the app cannot say which methods are recommended and says so.

Choose the methods

Web appStand › Plan & evidence › Methods & targets.
  1. 1 Where the stand is, from its boundary
  2. 2 One topic: what it measures
  3. 3 Recommended for this region
  4. 4 Provisional: published defaults awaiting confirmation
  1. Read where the stand is. The first line says which region the stand falls in, from its boundary (else its compartment’s, property’s, or the property’s country).
  2. Go topic by topic. Each topic says what it measures; the ⓘ explains the term.
  3. Keep the recommended method unless you have a reason not to. It is listed first with Recommended for …, then any local options.
  4. Note provisional methods. provisional means some thresholds are published defaults awaiting confirmation — each card says which in its Note, with its Source and version.

Using a method designed for elsewhere

Any method can be chosen. Methods designed for other regions are listed under Methods for other regions; choosing one shows a caution saying what may not fit (for example, indicator species lists or thresholds set for another flora).

Web appIBP FR v3.2 chosen for an Irish stand: the caution appears on the card.
  1. 1 A method designed for another region, chosen
  2. 2 The caution: what to check before relying on it
  1. Choose the method under Methods for other regions.
  2. Read the caution and decide. Choose Not measured in this stand for a topic you will not measure.
  3. Choose Save protocol choices at the bottom. Nothing changes until you save.
Change methods with care

Each visit is scored with the method it was recorded with, in the version in force on its date. If you switch method between visits, the trend compares different measures — the results page shows the method of every visit, but the comparison is yours to judge.

Set the objective

Under the method list there is one objective card per chosen method that takes targets. The form is generated from the method, so each method asks for its own targets.

Web appThe stand-data objective for BDq / reverse-J.
  1. 1 Target parameters (form generated from the method)
  2. 2 Description and effective date
  3. 3 Live target reverse-J
  4. 4 What if? Re-score the latest visit
  5. 5 Save objective
  1. Set the target parameters. For BDq: target basal area (m²/ha), the q-factor and the maximum (target) DBH. Sliders and boxes stay in step; invalid values are flagged.
  2. Describe the objective and its start date. Effective from matters: results before that date are judged against the earlier objective.
  3. Watch the live preview. For BDq the target reverse-J redraws as you change B, D and q — computed in your browser by the same engine the server uses.
  4. Try What if? to re-score the latest visit with these numbers, without saving.
  5. Choose Set objective (or Save objective). The card shows the saved version and its start date.
Web appA what-if: the latest inventory re-scored with the new targets, computed in the browser and not saved.
  1. 1 Computed in your browser · not saved

What each method asks for

MethodObjective
BDq / reverse-JTarget basal area (default 24 m²/ha), q-factor (1.3), maximum DBH (60 cm); optional volume tables
AFI indicatorsThe productive basal-area band (default 15–25 m²/ha)
Control methodNormal growing stock (default 26 m²/ha)
Target diameterTarget diameter per species
IBP — Irish CCF protocol (and the Northern Ireland list)Target management score, % (default 40)
IBP v3 (France, Benelux, Catalonia, Spain, Italy, EUR.MED)Target stand score of 35 (default 21)
WHIA v5The key indicator, and for each indicator the level not to exceed (default Low–Medium)
Regeneration (species × height)% of plots adequately stocked (default 70)
FC Information Note 45Simple or complex structure; for complex, the % of plots at 2,000 saplings/ha
DeadwoodBenchmark volume (default 20 m³/ha)

Methods without targets (health, H:D stability, post-harvest, most browsing methods) show results and flags without a target line. The Measurements guides explain each one.

What it doesn’t do (yet)
  • The app does not write the management plan; it keeps objectives with targets and their start dates, and the plan register of actions (Planned work).
  • There is no organisation-wide default per method; targets are set per stand.
MeasurementsOne guide per method — what it measures and why, where it is recommended, the kit, how plots are laid out, how to record it on the phone and how to read the result.Plan a field visitCheck the stand is ready, let the layout generator propose plots with the precision to expect, accept them, and add relocation details so the crew can re-find each plot for years.10 minutes per standRead your resultsHow a stand is doing at a glance, each topic over time against its target, the trend and when it might reach the target, and the full evaluation behind every number.7 minutesGlossaryThe terms used in the app and these guides, in plain words.Look up as needed