GIS and Forest Natural Resource Inventory

Dear Colleagues,

GIS provide a framework for location-based forest resource data analysis. There are several concepts and scales to provide forest resource information. The quantification of variation in forest areas has long been an objective of forest inventory and management. The spatial and temporal variation of the property that can be detected will often depend on the spatial and temporal scale, as well as the size of the mapping unit. The information levels used in forestry reporting are typically hierarchically divided into: (1) tree level; (2) stand level; (3) farm level; (4) region level; and (5) country level. The spatial pattern of the GIS layer can be mapped using remote sensing techniques or field observations.

The relative spatial distribution of forests and trees varies, because of changing land use practices, differences in the fertility of soil, and the hydrology, competition, and size distribution of trees. There are many forestry variables that are spatially sparse and scattered. Sometimes, complex spatial models are hard to evaluate, because it is difficult to find sufficient empirical data sets, as well as to compare exactly which aspects of spatiotemporal patterns are crucial for either a correct simulation, or a future model application. However, our subject can contain many application and spatial subjects, where outputs are produced in the form of a GIS layer.

Prof. Dr. Timo Tokola
Guest Editor

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