Forest Products Measurement - Volume Estimation
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The National Volume Estimator Library (NVEL) is a collection of the standing tree volume estimators used by the Forest Service. The NVEL contains the research publications, descriptions of the implementation process, and the computer source code. The Forest Products Measurement staff maintains the collection and makes the information available to all interested parties. The document Volume Estimator Library Equations has the instruction and examples for using the NVEL. The collection also includes the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) National Scale Volume and Biomass (NSVB) Estimators.
The Service Center also provides support to validate volume estimators, including the current estimators or new estimators a Region might be considering. We provide training for designing a validation study, collecting the appropriate measurements, and the validation software to analyze the data.
Software
The National Volume Estimator Library (NVEL) is a collection of the standing tree volume estimators used by the Forest Service. The NVEL contains the research publications, descriptions of the implementation process, and the computer source code. The Forest Products Measurement staff maintains the collection and makes the information available to all interested parties. The document Volume Estimator Library Equations has the instruction and examples for using the NVEL. The collection also includes the FIA National Scale Volume and Biomass (NSVB) Estimators.
Excel (32-bit) Volume Functions (volume-excel-functions-32-20250701-setup.exe, 05-27-2025, 2.75 MB)
Excel (64-bit) Volume Functions (volume-excel-functions-64-20250701-setup.exe, 05-27-2025, 2.85 MB)
Volume Library DLL (vol-lib-dll-20250701.zip, 07-01-2025, 2.47 MB)
Volume Tester and Profile Model Visualizer (vol-lib-tester-setup-20250701.zip, 07-01-2025, 710 KB)
Volume Biomass Equation Validation Program (VolEqValidator_20130803.zip, 08-03-2023, 5.65 MB)
Volume Equation Numbers
The National Volume Estimator Library uses volume equation numbers to access the volume equations. The volume equation numbers are tied to Region, Forest, and Species. The following Microsoft Word document contains the complete list of volume equation numbers available for use in each Forest Service Region.Volume Estimator Library Equations (Volume_Equation_Table_20240429.docx, 05-10-2024, 305 KB)
The Volume Table Generator is designed to produce volume tables from the current standing tree volume estimation routines in the National Volume Estimator Library. Volume tables can be created for total cubic volume, merchantable cubic volume, Scribner board foot volume, and/or International 1/4-inch board foot volume, depending upon the volume equation selected.
Volume Table Generator (self-extracting file) (VolumeTable20061017.zip, 10-17-2006, 696 KB)
The Dendrometer Program works with the Barr & Stroud optical dendrometer. The program converts the dendrometer readings (Tdrum, Fdrum, and Sin of Elevation) into diameter, height, and range. It is a MS-DOS program and runs on PCs and DOS-based handheld data recorders.
Volume Table Generator (self-extracting file) (dendro_zip.exe, 08-30-2011, 1 MB)
The Local Volume Table Program uses regression techniques to quickly create localized volume tables based on the cruise information. These tables, based on DBH and species, can be used by a sale administrator to estimate additional volume for tree measurement (or lump-sum) sales.
Current Local Volume Table Release (LocalVolumeTable_2010_03_18_Setup.exe, 08-30-2011, 641 KB)