Digital forestry research in China

Abstract

Digital Forestry as a concept was developed after the Digital Earth program. The Chinese scientists were not only among the pioneers who first proposed the concept of Digital Forestry, but also contributed a lot to the development of Digital Forestry. Digital Forestry is a digital framework to maintain forest planting, management, using, and protect. The synergetic use of computationally-intensive quantitative methods together with information technologies is the most important foundation for the development of Digital Forestry. Under this situation, the experience of Digital Forestry development in China is relatively rich. A number of academicians, scholars, and professional administrators were involved in discussing the Digital Forestry Construction Scheme. The Project of Digital Forestry Practicability approved by the State Forestry Administration is a major instance in developing Digital Forestry standard and key techniques. By introducing a case study of Digital Forestry, this paper reviews the concept of Digital Forestry, the way turning traditional forestry into Digital Forestry, and the future development of Digital Forestry.