Forest Mensuration-Remote Sensing In Forest Mensuration

In this book titled Forest Mensuration written by Antonie Van Laar and Alparslan Akca, the authors present the state-of-art research results relating to the practice of forest management.

While reading, I discovered the topics on remote sensing in forest mensuration contains most advanced scientific knowledge and information that enlighten me.

I have endeavored in this book, attempting to put across the idea that Forest mensuration is one of the most fundamental disciplines within forest and related sciences. It deals with the measurement of trees and stands and the analysis of the resultant information. 

During the early days of sustained forest management simple measurement and estimation methods and with the analysis of inventory and research data were available. 

The middle of last century, worldwide increase in the need for more quantitative information about trees and stands which generated the need for more sophisticated methods to obtain and analyze forest data.

Considerable progress has been made to develop methods for measuring tree and stand characteristic as well as in instrumentation in the statistical analysis of forest mensuration information. 

Sampling which based on inferential statistics plays a dominant role in forest mensuration and forest inventory.

The first attempts to introduce aerial photographs as a remote-sensing tool in forestry were made in 1887. An airborne balloon was used as a photographic platform to produce photographs of forest in the vicinity of Berlin. 

The objective was to examine the possibility of preparing forest maps from aerial photographs and in addition, to classify and describe the forest on the basis of a visual examination of the photographs. 

Aerial photographs were introduced during World War II, primarily for military purposes. It stimulated rapid technical developments and used to rationalize mapping operation.

 Traditional way to measure the tree

The development of non-photographic sensors, the application of digital photometry and the widespread use of geographic information systems have widened the scope and usefulness of remote-sensing technology for mapping and for the classification of forests. Satellite imagery too has been integrated successfully with the inventory of large forest tracts.