Comparison of Kalman filters in combining panel data from the annual inventory system of the South Korea National Forest Inventory

Abstract

National Forest Inventories (NFIs) serve a primary purpose of providing crucial information for formulating national forest policy, environmental planning and reporting to international processes (Tomppo and others 2010). Pressure for timely and reliable forestry statistics urges countries to put a NFI in place or to consider alternative designs. Some countries, for example, USA and Finland, moved from a periodic inventory design to an annual inventory design (Lawrence and others 2010) with the Swedish NFI being one of the earliest examples of the transition (Matérn 1960, Ranneby and others 1987). An annual inventory systematically subdivides a plot network, with equal proportion, into a number of panels equal to the length of measurement cycle (Reams and others 2005). A measurement cycle is typically five or ten years. Panels are measured successively on an annual basis. Remeasurement starts in the next cycle once all panels are visited. Thus, an annual inventory is expected to meet the demand for continually updated information.

Citation

Lam, Tzeng Yih; Czaplewski, Raymond L.; Yim, Jong Su; Lee, Kyeong Hak; Kim, Sung Ho; Kim, Rae Hyun. 2013. Comparison of Kalman filters in combining panel data from the annual inventory system of the South Korea National Forest Inventory. Res. Note RMRS-RN-52. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 15 p.