Applications of Geospatial Technology in Forest Resource Assessment, Management, and Monitoring

Abstract

AbstractForests impact human lives and livelihood in several ways because of their vital role in the global and regional ecosystems. However, our forests are deteriorating both qualitatively and quantitatively. Sustainable management of the forests with application of geospatial technologies can be useful for the conservation and monitoring of this renewable resource. Geospatial technology can be successfully used for the assessment of the extent of the forests, forest density and types, plantation, grasslands and for monitoring of these for change and damage assessment. Change monitoring includes afforestation and reforestation, forest cover transformation, and damages like forest degradation, encroachment, shifting cultivation, forest fire, pest, and disease. Advancements in autecological and synecological studies by means of geospatial technology are beneficial for the identification of hotspot areas in relation to biodiversity, endemicity, and threatened species; species habitat-relationship modeling, and deriving niche metrics. These inputs may play an important role in prioritizing areas for conservation and addressing biotic pressure to these areas for mitigation purposes. Geospatial technology is an ideal tool to quantify the forest as the major sink of atmospheric carbon, so as to assess forest biomass carbon, gross primary productivity, leaf area index and carbon sequestration rate, etc. Similarly, hyperspectral remote sensing is used for forest leaf biochemistry, spectral species identification, and forest health assessment. Advanced geospatial technologies like microwave and lidar are being effectively used nowadays for forest density, height, and volume estimation, which are indispensable for working plan preparation. All these inputs are very key for policymakers for strategic planning and preparation of management plans, working plans, and planning social forestry activities. In this chapter, we provide a review of the various geospatial technologies mentioned above that can be utilized effectively for forest resource assessment, management, and monitoring.KeywordsGeospatial technologyForest cover mappingForest type mappingSocial forestryAgroforestryForest working plansEncroachment assessmentForest right act—2006Forest fireBiodiversityNichesLAIGPPCarbon sequestrationForest biomassForest volume