Satellite-aided Field Forestry Applications

Forestry professionals need spatial data products to assist tactical planning, assessment and monitoring tasks. This need has been met in the past with aerial photography and maps. However, aerial photography and maps are often outdated and inconvenient to integrate into the now widely used automated data capture and GIS technologies.

Today, many foresters are upgrading to handheld computers, enhanced GPS units, field-based GIS and digital imagery to display powerfully accurate representations of forest attributes and spatial data while in the field. By using these specialized tools to locate field plots, collect and analyze data and eventually develop maps of forest attributes, foresters are increasing the quality and timeliness of data collection, and ultimately improving tactical forest management and planning decisions.

In terms of hardware, software and satellite imagery products, a number of options are available. Without a doubt, these products and their respective price to performance ratios will continue to improve as geospatial capability develops throughout all applications. In order for current and potential users to determine the best field GIS mapping system solution for their unique forest management and planning tasks, they must identify what their geospatial needs are and which product options can affordably meet these needs.

Here at the University of Minnesota, we are evaluating several field GIS mapping system solutions that foresters can integrate into forest management and planning operations. With the objective to meet the needs of forest resource professionals, we have partnered with several resource management organization representatives to assess the field utility and geospatial capability of these solutions for common forestry practices including forest regeneration surveys and corner location and line running.