Analysis of the Maine FIA Data

We were initially presented with a computer file with over 16 megabytes of FIA data. These data included 137 different variables describing 31795 trees. The trees were taken from 835 different FIA plots, each plot containing an average of 38 trees. Included in the data were descriptions of a tree's location (angle and distance from the center) within its FIA plot, dbh at three time periods (the 4th, 5th, and 6th measurement cycles), tree species, and tree history.

Since the time we were initially introduced to these data, there have been four major peculiarities regarding the locations of the trees.