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Forest is a significant source of biodiversity and a sink to carbon dioxide, the main cause of global climate change. The world has just under 4 billion hectares of forest, covering about 30% of the world's land area. From 1990 to 2005, the world lost 3 percent of its total forest area, an average decrease of 0.2% per year. There is a need for sustainable forest resource management at a local or global level because of an increase worldwide deforestation triggered by pressures such as logging, wildfires, desertification, pests and diseases. In fact, the recent pine beetle infestation in western North America has affected 1.5 million acres in Colorado according to a recent survey.
Different forest management strategies are being implemented including reforestation, good harvesting practices, landscape restoration, water and wildlife management. Remote sensing imagery, with their spatial, spectral and temporal characteristics can help optimize existing forest management strategies.
What is a Tree Counting Map?
A Tree Counting Map shows the contour of individual trees crown within an area of interest and their relative vigor. The map is produced using proprietary algorithms taking advantage of the spectral, spatial attributes of high spatial resolution satellite imagery.
How can the map be used?
The Tree Counting Map can be imported into a hand held GPS for scouting to rapidly locate problem areas, such as pine beetle infestation in the western slopes and wild fire, within the area of interest (generally at low plant vigor) and to take action through fertilizer, irrigation, herbicide application or mechanized tree removal after the cause of the problem is identified.
Product value
Current management consists of sending scouts on the field to randomly search problem areas, which is time consuming, costly and inefficient. GeoSpatial Partners'. Tree Counting Map is used to estimate the volume of lumber and make replanting decisions. It can also help plan scouting programs by identifying potential problem areas in the field, usually indicated by extreme plant vigor areas (low and high) on the map. The scout is then directed to those extreme areas to quickly identify the cause (soil fertility, irrigation, insect or pest) of the anomaly, thus saving time. The map can be calibrated for import into variable rate applicators to apply the recommended amount of fertilizer, water, herbicide, or pesticide at the exact area where the problem was detected, significantly saving inputs cost when compared to blanket applications.
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