Forest practitioners’ requirements for remote sensing-based canopy height, wood-volume, tree species, and disturbance products

Abstract

Abstract Despite decades of development, the uptake of remote sensing-based information products in the forestry sector is still lagging behind in central and southern Europe. This may partly relate to a mismatch of the developed remote sensing products and the requirements of potential users. Here, we present the results of a questionnaire survey in which we questioned 355 forest practitioners from eight central and southern European countries. We aimed to learn about forest practitioners' technical requirements for four remote sensing-based information products, including information on tree species, canopy height, wood volume/biomass, and forest disturbances. We asked for practitioners’ preferences with respect to thematic and spatial detail as well as the maximal acceptable error and the temporal frequency with which the information layers would be needed. We then examined whether the education, age, and professional background affect the requirements. Preferences with respect to spatial and thematic detail were comparably diverse while more homogenous patterns could be observed for demands with respect to errors and temporal frequency. Our results indicate that for some information products such as canopy height maps, existing remote sensing technology, and workflows can match all demands of practitioners. Remotely sensed information on forest disturbances partly fulfils the demands of the practitioners while for products related to tree species and wood volume/biomass the level of thematic detail and the accuracy of the products demanded by practitioners in central and southern Europe is not yet fully matched. We found no statistically significant differences between the demographic groups examined. The findings of this study improve our understanding of matches and mismatches of the technical requirements of practitioners for remote sensing-based information products.