• Submit to Forests Login Register
• MDPI
• Journals A-Z
• For Authors
• For Editors
• About
• Open Access Policy

• Abstract
• Full-Text PDF [1561 KB]

• Article Statistics
• Google Scholar
• Order Reprints

• Cite this article
• Export to BibTeX
• Export to EndNote

• [+] on DOAJ
• Chou, C
• Song, B
• Hedden, R
• Williams, T
• Culin, J
• Post, C
• [+] on Google Scholar
• Chou, C
• Song, B
• Hedden, R
• Williams, T
• Culin, J
• Post, C
• [+] on PubMed
• Chou, C
• Song, B
• Hedden, R
• Williams, T
• Culin, J
• Post, C

•  CiteULike
•  Facebook
•  Mendeley
•  Twitter

This article is

• freely available
• re-usable

Forests 2010, 1(2), 82-98; doi:10.3390/f1020082

Communication

Three-Dimensional Landscape Visualizations: New Technique towards Wildfire and Forest Bark Beetle Management

Chiao-Ying Chou ¹ , Bo Song ^2,* , Roy L. Hedden ¹ , Thomas M. Williams ² , Joseph D. Culin ³  and Christopher J. Post ¹

¹ Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA ² Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Belle W. Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science, Clemson University, P.O. Box 596, Georgetown, SC 29442, USA ³ Department of Entomology, Soils, and Plants Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 12 February 2010; in revised form: 2 April 2010 / Accepted: 12 April 2010 / Published: 19 April 2010

Download PDF Full-Text [1561 KB, uploaded 19 April 2010 15:18 CEST]

Abstract: After a century of fire exclusion, western US forests are vulnerable to wildfire and bark beetles. Although integrated fire and pest management programs (e.g., prescribed burning and thinning) are being implemented efficiently, damage to forests continues. Management challenges come in the forms of diverse land ownership, dynamic forest landscapes, the uncertainty effect of management strategies, and social interaction of the increasing wildland-urban interface. Three-dimensional (3-D) landscape visualization is comprised of multi-spatial, multi-temporal, and multi-expression elements. Supplemented with GIS database, remote sensing images, and simulation models, this technique can provide a comprehensive communication medium for decision makers, scientists, stakeholders, and the public with diverse backgrounds on the wildfire and forest bark beetle management. The technique we describe here can be used to organize complicated temporal and spatial information, evaluate alternative management operations, and improve decision-making processes. The application and limitations of our technique are also discussed.

Keywords: GIS database; remote sensing images; simulation models

Article Statistics

Cite This Article