Tag Status RFS Flag Synchronization w/ Tree/Sapling Status

[blcampbell]

While investigating #133, it was discovered that the flag which exists on the Tag form...

... does not necessarily mesh with the sapling or tree status shown in the Tree or Sapling tab.

These statuses should be synchronized so that all "Removed from study" statuses (tree or sapling) have the RFS tag value set as removed.

Similarly we should identify the list of tags that have the RFS flag set which should be listed as 'Removed from study' in their status but are not.

[blcampbell]

@lizmatthews03 , @johnpauls , @abrolis please comment as appropriate:

Master database shows the following Tag records & Tag statuses: Breakdown:

• RFS flag set to False > 22241 -- Inactive (In Field) > 856 -- Inactive (Lost) > 3 -- Retired (In Office) > 3103 -- Sapling > 4584 -- Tree > 13694
• RFS flag set to True > 348 -- Inactive (In Field) > 6 -- Inactive (Lost) > 5 -- Retired (In Office) > 319 -- Sapling > 9 -- Tree > 9

Note: There is no 'Removed from study' Tag Status.

Status, Status, & a Flag Confusion likely arises between the 3 status fields being actively used: Tag Status, Tree Status, Sapling Status and the Tag flag RFS indicating a tree/sapling associated with the tag has been removed from study.

Based on the data, the tree/sapling status fields show the following numbers for "Removed from study" status ...

• Trees (tbl_Tree_Data.Tree_Status) > 3
• Saplings (tbl_Sapling_Data.Sapling_Status) > 1755

Removed from Study Candidates... Tree and sapling statuses utilize 'Removed from study', however there are tree and sapling statuses that also potentially are removed from study though they do not have the status 'Removed from study'.
Caveat: If any of these are used in analysis, then they really aren't a 'Removed from study' category/candidate.

• Missing categories: -- Missing -- Missing - Presumed Dead -- Missing - Uncertain
• Downgraded to Non-Sampled

Note: If any of these statuses should be removed from study from a protocol perspective, then 'Removed from study' should really be a flag for trees/saplings versus a status.

Tag Disposition Tag Status really is more of a tag disposition than a status in the way of tree and sapling statuses. From a Tag perspective, there is no 'Removed from study' status - only a RFS flag. So tags only have statuses of:

• Retired (In Office) > 3422
• Inactive (in Field) > 862
• Inactive (Lost) > 8
• Sapling > 4593
• Tree > 13703

Of these, only 1758 should have the tag RFS flag set based on tree/sapling 'Removed from study' statuses. So a Tag's RFS flag should be set based on the tree/sapling status vs. the tag's disposition (aka Tag_Status). For this issue then, RFS flags should be set to True whenever the tree/sapling status for the tag is 'Removed from study'.

Questions First, congratulations on getting this far!

• Do any of the Inactive or RIO tree/sapling statuses also reference tags that are removed from study?
• Should any tree/sapling statuses other than 'Removed from study' also set a tag's RFS flag to true?

[johnpauls]

I guess the confusing issue here is that "Removed from Study" is something that happens to the Plant, rather than the tag - particularly when you consider that over time tags get lost and a plant can have more than one tag.

Do any of the Inactive or RIO tree/sapling statuses also reference tags that are removed from study?

Typically I would expect if a plant is Removed from Study, then its tag would be Retired in Office or very occasionally Inactive (Lost), as well as the RFS flag set to TRUE. I see no problem with that. The 18 plants which have a Tag status of tree or sapling and are listed as RFS are a little troubling and should investigated.

Should any tree/sapling statuses other than 'Removed from study' also set a tag's RFS flag to true?

No. Missing and downgraded plants are still part of the study.