Abstract
National forest resource assessments and monitoring, commonly known as National Forest Inventories (NFI’s), constitute an important national information infrastructure in many countries. This study presents details about developments of the NFI in China, including sampling and plot design, and the uses of alternative data sources, and specifically • reviews the evolution of the national forest inventory in China through the 20th and 21st centuries, with some reference to Europe and the US; • highlights the emergence of some common international themes: consistency of measurement; more efficient sampling designs; implementation of improved technology; expansion of the variables monitored; scientific transparency; • presents an example of how China’s expanding NFI exemplifies these global trends. Main results and important changes in China’s NFI are documented, both to support continued trend analysis and to provide data users with historical perspective. New technologies and data needs ensure that the Chinese NFI, like the national inventories in other countries, will continue to evolve. Within the context of historical change and current conditions, likely directions for this evolution are suggested.
Highlights
National forest resource assessments and monitoring, commonly known as National Forest Inventories (NFI’s), constitute an important national information infrastructure in many countries
New technologies and data needs ensure that the Chinese National Forest Inventory (NFI), like the national inventories in other countries, will continue to evolve
The objective of this study is to describe the development of the national forest inventory in China, and to present the most recent estimates of the basic forest resource parameters, as well as the changes over time
Summary
National forest resource assessments and monitoring, commonly known as National Forest Inventories (NFI’s), constitute an important national information infrastructure in many countries. National forest resource assessment and monitoring, commonly known as National Forest Inventory (NFI), has become an important part of the national information infrastructure in many countries. In a forest inventory, the tabulated information generally includes estimates for trees, tree properties and forests, often on the basis of areal units (Loetsch and Haller 1973; Davis et al 2001; Tomppo et al 2010b) and is regarded as reliable and adequate for its intended purposes. Additional demands, including information on forest ecosystem health, are constantly emerging and new technology is applied to meet these challenges. Forest health monitoring has become an essential part of the inventories in many countries.
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