Orange County NC Website
Table 2 <br />N FEATURES OF FORESTS USED TO CALCULATE <br />THE INTRINSIC RATING FORA TRACT <br />Area (A) <br />the size in acres of a tract of forest <br />Maturity (M) <br />3 — more than 90% hardwoods in the canopy <br />2 — 50 -90% hardwoods in the canopy <br />1 — less than 50% hardwoods (more than 50% pines) in the canopy <br />0 — no closed canopy of full -grown trees) <br />Disturbance (absence oo (D) <br />3 — no breaks in the canopy for small roads or buildings <br />2 — few breaks in canopy <br />1 — many breaks in canopy <br />Edginess (minimization ofl (E) <br />the perimeter of the tract divided by the circumference of a circle of equal area. <br />(A circular disc has the shortest edge in relation to its area. The longer, narrower, and more convoluted a tract is, the <br />greater is its perimeter in relation to its area. So E equals 1 for a circular tract and decreases toward 0 as a tract becomes <br />narrower and more convoluted in shape.) <br />Inventoried natural areas (1) <br />3 — tract overlaps or includes an inventoried natural area of state -wide significance <br />2 — tract overlaps or includes an area of regional significance <br />1 — tract does not overlap or include an area of state -wide or regional significance <br />Stream present (S) <br />2 — a mapped stream, river, vernal pool, or lake within or adjoining the tract <br />1— no known body of water <br />INTRINSIC RATING FOR WILDLIFE (IR) =A x M x D x E x S x <br />