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pyfia.downloader

FIA Data Download Module. This module provides functionality to download FIA data directly from the USDA Forest Service FIA DataMart, similar to rFIA’s getFIA() function in R. Downloads CSV files from FIA DataMart and converts them to DuckDB format for use with pyFIA.

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Examples

from pyfia import download

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Download Georgia data (returns path to DuckDB database)

db_path = download(“GA”)

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Download multiple states (merged into single database)

db_path = download([“GA”, “FL”, “SC”])

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Download to specific directory

db_path = download(“GA”, dir=”./data”)

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Download only common tables (default)

db_path = download(“GA”, common=True)

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References

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Functions

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download 

download(states: str | list[str], dir: str | Path | None = None, common: bool = True, tables: list[str] | None = None, force: bool = False, show_progress: bool = True, use_cache: bool = True) -> Path
Download FIA data from the FIA DataMart. This function downloads FIA data for one or more states from the USDA Forest Service FIA DataMart, similar to rFIA’s getFIA() function. Data is automatically converted to DuckDB format for use with pyFIA. Args:
  • states: State abbreviations (e.g., ‘GA’, ‘NC’). Supports multiple states: [‘GA’, ‘FL’, ‘SC’]
  • dir: Directory to save downloaded data. Defaults to ~/.pyfia/data/
  • common: If True, download only tables required for pyFIA functions. If False, download all available tables.
  • tables: Specific tables to download. Overrides common parameter.
  • force: If True, re-download even if files exist locally.
  • show_progress: Show download progress bars.
  • use_cache: Use cached downloads if available.
Returns:
  • Path to the DuckDB database file.
Examples:
from pyfia import download

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Download Georgia data

db_path = download(“GA”)

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Download multiple states merged into one database

db_path = download([“GA”, “FL”, “SC”])

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Download only specific tables

db_path = download(“GA”, tables=[“PLOT”, “TREE”, “COND”])

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Use with pyFIA immediately

from pyfia import FIA, area with FIA(download(“GA”)) as db: … db.clip_most_recent() … result = area(db)

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clear_cache 

clear_cache(older_than_days: int | None = None, state: str | None = None, delete_files: bool = False) -> int
Clear the download cache. Args:
  • older_than_days: Only clear entries older than this many days.
  • state: Only clear entries for this state.
  • delete_files: If True, also delete the cached files from disk.
Returns:
  • Number of cache entries cleared.

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cache_info 

cache_info() -> dict
Get information about the download cache. Returns:
  • Cache statistics including size, file count, etc.