High-resolution Forest Mapping (HiForm)

HiForm is an online application for forest managers and planners to create detailed maps of forest change caused by severe weather, wildland fire, timber harvest, and insects and disease. This tool utilizes Google Earth Engine and 10-meter Sentinel-2 and 30-meter Landsat imagery with primary reliance on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to calculate change. 

HiForm’s cloud-based technology revolutionizes how forests can be monitored at near-real-time and over the long-term for assessing changes, from local to regional scales. The goal is to improve how we monitor forest disturbance and dynamics in the eastern US in ways that are best adapted for managers. 

For more information, contact Steve Norman, Research Ecologist, steven.norman@usda.gov, or Bill Christie, Remote Sensing Analyst, william.m.christie@usda.gov.