Improved estimates of per-plot basal area from angle count inventories

Forest inventories were originally designed for the assessment of timber stocks over large areas. The large datasets gathered by these programs are becoming of increasing interest in other applications, particularly in ecosystem modeling. With inventory designs based on sampling proportional to size...

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Main Authors: Eastaugh Chris S, Hasenauer H
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Italian Society of Silviculture and Forest Ecology (SISEF) 2014-06-01
Series:iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry
Subjects:
Online Access:https://iforest.sisef.org/contents/?id=ifor1158-007
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author Eastaugh Chris S
Hasenauer H
author_facet Eastaugh Chris S
Hasenauer H
author_sort Eastaugh Chris S
collection DOAJ
description Forest inventories were originally designed for the assessment of timber stocks over large areas. The large datasets gathered by these programs are becoming of increasing interest in other applications, particularly in ecosystem modeling. With inventory designs based on sampling proportional to size (angle-count plots) users should be cautious of using data pertaining to individual plots, as the plot-wise data is a statistical estimate rather than a true measurement. Estimates of per-plot basal area are mathematically unbiased, but the individual precision is extremely poor. Resampling of inventory datasets using multiple basal area factors can improve the precision of the estimates on single plots, thus providing better data for potential end users. Following two simulation studies to demonstrate our method we apply it to the sampling points of the Austrian National Forest Inventory, and show how the improved estimates of basal area give rise to more realistic estimates of basal area increment on individual points, reducing variance through the smoothing of extreme estimates. Our method will be useful in studies where angle count inventory data pertaining to individual plots is used to assess the precision of models or remote sensing methods.
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spelling doaj.art-71cd38a88750480a96dff7661e6c34592022-12-22T03:53:43ZengItalian Society of Silviculture and Forest Ecology (SISEF)iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry1971-74581971-74582014-06-017117818510.3832/ifor1158-0071158Improved estimates of per-plot basal area from angle count inventoriesEastaugh Chris S0Hasenauer H1Institute of Silviculture, Department of Forest and Soil Sciences, BOKU University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Peter Jordan Str. 82, A-1190 Wien (Austria)Institute of Silviculture, Department of Forest and Soil Sciences, BOKU University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Peter Jordan Str. 82, A-1190 Wien (Austria)Forest inventories were originally designed for the assessment of timber stocks over large areas. The large datasets gathered by these programs are becoming of increasing interest in other applications, particularly in ecosystem modeling. With inventory designs based on sampling proportional to size (angle-count plots) users should be cautious of using data pertaining to individual plots, as the plot-wise data is a statistical estimate rather than a true measurement. Estimates of per-plot basal area are mathematically unbiased, but the individual precision is extremely poor. Resampling of inventory datasets using multiple basal area factors can improve the precision of the estimates on single plots, thus providing better data for potential end users. Following two simulation studies to demonstrate our method we apply it to the sampling points of the Austrian National Forest Inventory, and show how the improved estimates of basal area give rise to more realistic estimates of basal area increment on individual points, reducing variance through the smoothing of extreme estimates. Our method will be useful in studies where angle count inventory data pertaining to individual plots is used to assess the precision of models or remote sensing methods.https://iforest.sisef.org/contents/?id=ifor1158-007InventoryBasal AreaSampling Proportional to SizeResamplingBitterlich
spellingShingle Eastaugh Chris S
Hasenauer H
Improved estimates of per-plot basal area from angle count inventories
iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry
Inventory
Basal Area
Sampling Proportional to Size
Resampling
Bitterlich
title Improved estimates of per-plot basal area from angle count inventories
title_full Improved estimates of per-plot basal area from angle count inventories
title_fullStr Improved estimates of per-plot basal area from angle count inventories
title_full_unstemmed Improved estimates of per-plot basal area from angle count inventories
title_short Improved estimates of per-plot basal area from angle count inventories
title_sort improved estimates of per plot basal area from angle count inventories
topic Inventory
Basal Area
Sampling Proportional to Size
Resampling
Bitterlich
url https://iforest.sisef.org/contents/?id=ifor1158-007
work_keys_str_mv AT eastaughchriss improvedestimatesofperplotbasalareafromanglecountinventories
AT hasenauerh improvedestimatesofperplotbasalareafromanglecountinventories