LONG-TERM STRATEGY FOR THE STATISTICAL DESIGN OF A FOREST HEALTH MONITORING-SYSTEM

A conceptual framework is given for a broad-scale survey of forest hea lth that accomplishes three objectives: generate descriptive statistic s; detect changes in such statistics; and simplify analytical inferenc es that identify, and possibly establish cause-effect relationships. O ur paper discusses the development of sampling schemes to satisfy thes e three objectives, but without any design restrictions implied by exi sting sample surveys. A general vision of a desirable future system wi ll increase chances that short-term decisions will lead to better envi ronmental monitoring systems in the long term.