The data storage and analysis system of the Swiss National Forest Inventory

Abstract

Many countries conduct national forest inventories and collect data from different sources such as field sample plots or aerial imagery. The sustainable management of this data requires appropriate systems for the storage and dissemination of this data to a variety of stakeholders. The Swiss national forest inventory started with surveys in 1982 and developed the NAFIDAS system which facilitates highly metadata controlled management and analysis of sample based forest inventory data. Public users are provided with guided access to a comprehensive set of tables and interactive maps on forest statistics. A very user-friendly search and filtering system supports the querying of results. NAFIDAS has proven to be a performant solution which may serve as a blueprint for the complete data processing chain of sample based forest inventories starting with the upload of data and ending with the provision of a huge variety of inventory tables and maps on the internet.