Using high-performance global navigation satellite system technology to improve Forest Inventory and Analysis plot coordinates in the Pacific region
| Authors: | Hans Andersen, Jacob L. Strunk, Robert McGaughey |
| Year: | 2022 |
| Type: | General Technical Report |
| Station: | Pacific Northwest Research Station |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.2737/PNW-GTR-1000 |
| Source: | Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-1000. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. |
Abstract
There is growing recognition that more accurate Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) field plot coordinates are required to enable direct comparison of field-measured inventory attributes and high-resolution remotely sensed measurements. After extensive testing and a successful pilot project, in 2014 the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Pacific Northwest Forest Inventory and Analysis Program (PNW-FIA) implemented a high-performance global navigation satellite system (HPGNSS) initiative to provide high-quality coordinates at the subplot level for all FIA plots in the inventory domain (Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Hawai’i, and the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands). In this report, we describe the main components of the HPGNSS initiative as currently implemented by PNW-FIA in the inventory domain, including a brief history of the initiative’s use of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) technology, background on GNSS, data collection procedures in the field, postprocessing, accuracy assessment, and database considerations.