Mass Forest Survey and State Forest Inventory Data: Specification of the Discrepancies, Causes, Analysis

• Main Authors: S. K. Farber, N. V. Bryuhanov
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch Publishing House 2014-10-01
• Series: Сибирский лесной журнал
• Subjects: forest planning; state forest inventory; sample plot; forest inventory sub-compartment; forest inventory errors; stratification
• Online Access: http://xn--80abmehbaibgnewcmzjeef0c.xn--p1ai/upload/iblock/b28/b281597bbfeb911c4f89a9f70a5b7212.pdf

State forest inventory (SFI) is a forest investigation that was not performed earlier in our country. Its purpose is to identify total forest area characteristics including wood volume in Russia. There are several papers about the existence of huge differences between actual forest management and SFI data. Nevertheless, at the Russian forest management committee of NFI data performed in Bryansk in 2013 it was still decided to use SFI data. The reasons for existence of differences in land category and forest formation were revealed on the basis of the two examples in Krasnoyarsk Territory Angara river region. The amount of sample items was 340. We compared the sample plots and compartment in order to identify the characteristics of differences between NFI data and forest management materials. We performed physical observation of sample plots and compartments of forest stands and relief maps in order to identify the potential differences. Reconciliation of sample plots of SFI data and compartment showed significant mistakes due to inhomogeneous structure of compartments and some forest management decision for third category. However, these issues do not influence on differences. Systematic errors occur because of SFI methodology peculiarities. This is the main reason for differences between traditional forest management and SFI data. These errors should be improved. The main conclusion made during the performed work is to refuse from stratification of total forest area characteristics at the planning stage of choosing the sample plots. The relief and soil hydrological characteristics should be taken into consideration in a stratification analysis. Sample plots location should be chosen based on the landscape peculiarities, far from the pathway, that will allow elimination of the systematic errors.