Treesearch
An integrated approach to mapping forest conditions in the Southern Appalachians (North Carolina)
| Authors: | Weimin Xi, Lei Wang, Andrew G Birt, Maria D. Tchakerian, Robert N. Coulson, Kier D. Klepzig |
| Year: | 2009 |
| Type: | Scientific Journal |
| Station: | Southern Research Station |
| Source: | Ecological Restoration, Vol. 26(4): 290-302 |
Download (PDF 959 KB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/34199.pdf
Abstract
Accurate and continuous forest cover information is essential for forest management and restoration (SAMAB 1996, Xi et al. 2007). Ground-truthed, spatially explicit forest data, however, are often limited to federally managed land or large-scale commercial forestry operations where forest inventories are regularly collected. Moreover, such areas are often fragmented by parcels of privately owned forest for which reliable data are unavailable. As a result, analyses and models that rely on these data face a trade-off between using large, ecologically meaningful spatial scales with missing data, or choosing less relevant spatial scales dictated by the availability and completeness of data.