A comparison of computer simulation techniques in depicting and communicating the visual impacts of timber harvesting in the Jefferson National Forest

• Main Author: Schwenke, Sherri Kay
• Other Authors: Architecture and Urban Studies
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 2019
• Subjects: LD5655.V855 1994.S394; Forest management > Jefferson National Forest > Computer simulation; Logging > Jefferson National Forest > Computer simulation
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10919/94511

Advances in computer technology have made it possible for designers to manipulate realistic images on a computer screen. Previously, most computer generated images consisted of line drawings or distorted grid perspectives. A program known as PC/NewPerspectives, which generated distorted grid perspectives, has been in use by US Forest Service Landscape Architects who use it to determine the visual impact of a proposed harvest unit and manipulate the layout to reduce the impact. New programs in video imagery offer the opportunity to design harvest layouts on a more realistic format, which may also be used as a communication tool to relay to members of the public what the proposed alteration would look like. This study compares the two media in terms of landscape preference and acceptability of activity to determine the difference in the two media as communication tools and how this would influence their effectiveness. === M.L.A.