The Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) is a family of individual-tree, distance-independent, forest growth simulation models. It is a system of highly integrated analytical tools that is based upon a body of scientific research and experience. Since the development of the first model for northern Idaho in 1973, FVS has evolved into a collection of 'variants' which represent different geographic areas across the county. FVS can simulate a wide range of silvicultural treatments for most major forest tree species, forest types, and stand conditions.
The FVS Staff of the Forest Management Service Center (FMSC) in Fort Collins, Colorado, maintains, supports, develops, and provides training for FVS.
Detailed information, such as our workflow policies and directions on building FVS in various environments, can be found on our Wiki.
More information, such as training materials, videos, and documents, can be found on our website.
Throughout its history, FVS has had many contributors, authors, and developers. The following list is not intended to be all encompassing, but rather simply identifies the currently active contributors.
- Michael VanDyck - FVS Staff Lead and Product Owner
- Daniel Wagner - FVS Programmer and Repository Maintainer
- Lance David - FVS Senior Programmer
- Erin Smith-Mateja - FVS Forest Biometrician
- Mark Castle - FVS Forest Biometrician
- Matt Diskin - FVS Forest Biometrician
- Nick Crookston - Forest Research Consultant
- Don Robinson - Ecologist and Canadian Variant (BC, ON) Development