Evaluation Of Forest Resources Research Articles

Research on the Registration of Aerial Images of Cyclobalanopsis Natural Forest Based on Optimized Fast Sample Consensus Point Matching with SIFT Features

The effective management and conservation of forest resources hinge on accurate monitoring. Nonetheless, individual remote-sensing images captured by low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) fail to encapsulate the entirety of a forest’s characteristics. The application of image-stitching technology to high-resolution drone imagery facilitates a prompt evaluation of forest resources, encompassing quantity, quality, and spatial distribution. This study introduces an improved SIFT algorithm designed to tackle the challenges of low matching rates and prolonged registration times encountered with forest images characterized by dense textures. By implementing the SIFT-OCT (SIFT omitting the initial scale space) approach, the algorithm bypasses the initial scale space, thereby reducing the number of ineffective feature points and augmenting processing efficiency. To bolster the SIFT algorithm’s resilience against rotation and illumination variations, and to furnish supplementary information for registration even when fewer valid feature points are available, a gradient location and orientation histogram (GLOH) descriptor is integrated. For feature matching, the more computationally efficient Manhattan distance is utilized to filter feature points, which further optimizes efficiency. The fast sample consensus (FSC) algorithm is then applied to remove mismatched point pairs, thus refining registration accuracy. This research also investigates the influence of vegetation coverage and image overlap rates on the algorithm’s efficacy, using five sets of Cyclobalanopsis natural forest images. Experimental outcomes reveal that the proposed method significantly reduces registration time by an average of 3.66 times compared to that of SIFT, 1.71 times compared to that of SIFT-OCT, 5.67 times compared to that of PSO-SIFT, and 3.42 times compared to that of KAZE, demonstrating its superior performance.

Forestry and sustainable development

Global trends of increasing threat to forests and the environment, as well as the efforts of humanity to achieve greater material and economic benefits have influenced the acceptance of the concept of sustainable development and forest management. Sustainability in forestry is applied as a principle of regulated management that has long been associated with the concept of sustainability (continuity) of production, yield and income. It represents the basic principle of forest management in the Republic of Srpska in which the priority is the production (economic) function. Sustainable forest development is enabled if forests are managed in such a way as to preserve their biodiversity, productivity, natural regeneration, vitality, and their potential so that forests now and in the future perform significant ecological, economic and social functions locally, nationally and globally. level. Regarding indicators of sustainable forest management, there are differences between organizations, so there is a need to achieve widely recognized harmonization in order to facilitate the analysis and adoption of measures to improve sustainable forest management. Forestry is often viewed in the context of overall sustainable development, because the SDGs goals affirmed the economic and environmental component of sustainable development. Strategic development goals in modern European forestry are of a sectoral, social, political, economic and environmental nature. The United Nations has defined 17 basic goals of sustainable development, and almost all of them are directly and indirectly related to forestry. The global goals and measures in forestry that need to be achieved by 2030 are: stopping the trend of forest loss around the world, increasing economic, environmental and social support provided by forests, increasing the area of protected forests and strengthening cooperation and partnerships in scientific and technical forestry. Due to the mutual interaction and contradictions of goals and measures, certain compromises are needed, and due to the pronounced multifunctionality of forests and the manner of their use, the principles of certification of sustainable forest management have been promoted. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC 1993) and Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC 1999) are mainly applied. In the Republic of Srpska, the FSC FM certificate has been held by JPŠ "Šume Republike Srpske" a.d. since 2008. Sokolac, while private forests are not certified. In the Republika Srpska/BiH, FSC standards for sustainable forest management have been developed, which have been used since March 22, 2020. years (FSC 2019) and have a validity period of five years. The evaluation of the functions of our forests is not always in line with modern trends in the evaluation of forest resources, because the indicators related to productivity from the point of view of raw material base, growth and simple reproduction are quantified. Forestry development guidelines must be strategically focused on priority areas: forest cultivation and protection, development of a sustainable environment, development of human resources and education systems, and business use of information and communication technology. Necessary coherence, complementarity and integration of sustainable development goals have influenced the inclusion of forestry as an important economic activity for achieving human health, access to renewable energy, food, drinking water, the fight against climate change and others. Contemporary intentions that are insisted on when it comes to the importance of forest ecosystems, and current topics in the process of education, forestry science and profession relate to ecosystem services and biodiversity, forest protection, biomass production for energy, new technologies, information systems and monitoring.

ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКАЯ ОЦЕНКА АЛЬТЕРНАТИВ ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЯ ЛЕСНЫХ РЕСУРСОВ

The article considers traditional and alternative (ecosystem) forms of use of forest resources on the lands of the forest fund. A variety of soil and climatic conditions, land categories and forest protection create prerequisites for various forms of forest management and the implementation of ecosystem projects in the country's forest fund. The necessity of a comprehensive economic assessment of forest resources in order to stimulate the development of new types of business and territories has been proved. Ecosystem services of the forest are proposed to be considered as the first priority in matters of economic evaluation of forest resources and payments for forest use. To organize the multifunctional use of forests, quantitative assessments of the potential of climate-oriented activities (forest climate projects) in regional forestry systems are required. In the context of federal districts, there is a significant differentiation in terms of the level of investment attractiveness of forest lands suitable for the implementation of forest climate projects for the creation of carbon sequestering plantations. Within the framework of such projects, it becomes possible not only to expand the reproduction of forest resources, including improving the condition and species composition of forests, but also to generate investment income in the form of carbon units produced on carbon markets. The southern and southeastern regions of the country have the greatest potential for the implementation of climate projects related to afforestation and reforestation.

Integration of Multi-Sensor Data to Estimate Plot-Level Stem Volume Using Machine Learning Algorithms–Case Study of Evergreen Conifer Planted Forests in Japan

The development of new methods for estimating precise forest structure parameters is essential for the quantitative evaluation of forest resources. Conventional use of satellite image data, increasing use of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), and emerging trends in the use of unmanned aerial systems (UASs) highlight the importance of modern technologies in the realm of forest observation. Each technology has different advantages, and this work seeks to incorporate multiple satellite, TLS- and UAS-based remote sensing data sets to improve the ability to estimate forest structure parameters. In this paper, two regression analysis approaches are considered for the estimation: random forest regression (RFR) and support vector regression (SVR). To collect the dependent variable, in situ measurements of individual tree parameters (tree height and diameter at breast height (DBH)) were taken in a Japanese cypress forest using the nondestructive TLS method, which scans the forest to obtain dense and accurate point clouds under the tree canopy. Based on the TLS data, the stem volume was then computed and treated as ground truth information. Topographic and UAS information was then used to calculate various remotely sensed explanatory variables, such as canopy size, canopy cover, and tree height. Canopy cover and canopy shapes were computed via the orthoimages derived from the UAS and watershed segmentation method, respectively. Tree height was computed by combining the digital surface model (DSM) from the UAS and the digital terrain model (DTM) from the TLS data. Topographic variables were computed from the DTM. The backscattering intensity in the satellite imagery was obtained based on L-band (Advanced Land Observing Satellite-2 (ALOS-2) Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar-2 (PALSAR-2)) and C-band (Sentinel-1) synthetic aperture radar (SAR). All satellite (10–25 m resolution), TLS (3.4 mm resolution) and UAS (2.3–4.6 cm resolution) data were then combined, and RFR and SVR were trained; the resulting predictive powers were then compared. The RFR method yielded fitting R2 up to 0.665 and RMSE up to 66.87 m3/ha (rRMSE = 11.95%) depending on the input variables (best result with canopy height, canopy size, canopy cover, and Sentinel-1 data), and the SVR method showed fitting R2 up to 0.519 and RMSE up to 80.12 m3/ha (rRMSE = 12.67%). The RFR outperformed the SVR method, which could delineate the relationship between the variables for better model accuracy. This work has demonstrated that incorporating various remote sensing data to satellite data, especially adding finer resolution data, can provide good estimates of forest parameters at a plot level (10 by 10 m), potentially allowing advancements in precision forestry.

ТЕОРЕТИЧНІ АСПЕКТИ ЕКОНОМІЧНОЇ ОЦІНКИ ЛІСОВИХ РЕСУРСІВ ЯК ОБ’ЄКТІВ ОБЛІКУ

У статті досліджено основні тенденцій становлення та розвитку наукової думки щодо оцінки природних ресурсів, зокрема лісових. Окреслено підстави та випадки застосування економічної оцінки лісів у сучасних умовах господарювання, що обґрунтовує необхідність і можливість здійснення такої оцінки. Оскільки ліс є складним природним об’єктом та одночасно об’єктом цілеспрямованої господарської діяльності людей і джерелом лісових ресурсів, що втілюють економічні вигоди, запропоновано розмежовувати оцінку лісу як екологічної системи та об’єкта економіки. Обґрунтовано склад об’єктів оцінки лісів як об’єктів економіки з метою відображення його складових у системі бухгалтерського обліку та звітності.

Forest Cover Change Analysis Using Remote Sensing Techniques in Madhupur Sal Forest of Bangladesh

Deforestation, degradation, damages, transformation and over exploitation of forests are the common problem in different parts of the world. Timely monitoring and assessment of forest resources may help to address and identify the above mentioned problems and thus proper guidance may be given the forest resources manager for rational planning and management of forests. Apart from the conventional methods of forest monitoring, remote sensing with its unique capability of synoptic viewing, real time and repetitive nature offers a potential tool for monitoring and evaluation of forest resources and hence remote sensing technology has been successfully used in various studies like forest inventory, monitoring of forest cover changes and forest damage assessment. In the present research forest cover change analysis in ‘Madhupur Sal Forest’ located in central part of Bangladesh has been investigated using satellite remote sensing data and spatial analysis. Transformation of ‘Sal forest’ to other landuse has been studied using the Landsat MSS (Multi Spectral Scanner) data of 1973 and Landsat 8 OLI (Operational Land Imager) data of 2015. Driving forces behind the transformation of ‘Sal forest’ has also been investigated through GPS (Global Positioning System) based ground verification and interview with the people living in the locality.J. Environ. Sci. & Natural Resources, 10(2): 73-78 2017

СевНИИЛХ – история, современное состояние и вектор развития

В статье приводятся основные направления исследовательской деятельности института за 60-летнюю историю его существования. Проблемы экологии, экономики лесного хозяйства, интенсификации использования и воспроизводства лесов остаются одними из ключевых в настоящее время. The article is devoted to the history of the forest science development in the European North of Russia and synthesis of the scientific results of the Northern Research Institute of Forestry. Since the foundation of the Northern Research Institute of Forestry, its scientists conducted fundamental research on the nature of taiga and pre-tundra forests, typology of forests and cutting areas, natural and artificial reforestation, mechanisms of mutual influence and growth of basic tree species in the extreme conditions of the North. The theoretical regulations of taiga forestry were systematized and forest management systems developed in forests for various special purposes. The processes of stands development of derivative formations were studied, and the economic and biological assessment of the change of tree species were given [1]. The development, analysis and systematization of regional forest taxation standards, which have found wide application in forestry practice is considered the most important result of the Institute's research [2]. Ecological and silvicultural basics for improving the quality and productivity of artificial forests in the European North, the system of targeted forest growing, the system of felling for the main use, based on silvicultural, ecological and technological requirements for technical means were developed. The results of long-term scientific work on the state, ways of conservation and restoration of larch forests of the North were summed up. The southern boundary of pre-tundra forests of Russia on the basis of a comprehensive study of the protective role of extremely northern forests were established. The ways to increase the productivity of forests using methods of selection, drainage reclamation and application of mineral fertilizers were developed, technologies for the production of resinous substances were improved, an extensive network of coniferous geographical cultures which allows the zoning of forest seeds in the European North was created. A «Dynamic model for multivariate multifactor calculations of forest use» was developed in order to conform with the principle of sustainable forest management; it makes possible the determination of size of the estimated cutting area for coniferous economy that does not decrease during the whole logging turnover, takes into account the impact on the cutting area, the period of natural regeneration, increase of forest productivity. Methods of economic evaluation of forest resources and economic evaluation of the effectiveness of forest management measures were also developed. In conclusion, the article states that, despite the listed successes in the awareness of the northern forests, further more in-depth study of the nature of the northern forests is needed.

ESTIMATION OF BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RENTAL INSTRUMENT FOR REGULATION USE OF FORESTS

Rent management of forest management in Ukraine is explored. It is substantiated that the relevant state policy in this area is conservative. The existing mechanism of this regulation does not comply defined reproductive and environmental functions exclusively fiscal. It is proposed to improve the basis for collecting rent payments on the economic evaluation of forest resources to enhance the incentive effect on forest users' activities.

A Linkage among Tree Diameter, Height, Crown Base Height, and Crown Width 4-Variate Distribution and Their Growth Models: A 4-Variate Diffusion Process Approach

The evolution of the 4-variate probability distribution of the diameter at the breast height, total height, crown base height, and crown width against the age in a forest stand is of great interest to forest management and the evaluation of forest resources. This paper focuses on the Vasicek type 4-variate fixed effect stochastic differential equation (SDE) to quantify the dynamic of tree size components distribution against the age. The new derived 4-variate probability density function and its marginal univariate, bivariate, trivariate, and conditional univariate distributions are applied for the modeling of stand attributes such as the mean diameter, height, crown base height, crown width, volume, and slenderness. All parameters were estimated by the maximum likelihood procedure using a dataset of 1630 Scots pine trees (12 stands). The results were validated using a dataset of 699 Scots pine trees (five stands). A newly developed 4-variate simultaneous system of SDEs incorporated covariance structure driving changes in tree size components and improved predictions in one tree size component given the other tree size components in the system.

Using Fractal Analysis in Modeling the Dynamics of Forest Areas and Economic Impact Assessment: Maramureș County, Romania, as a Case Study

This study uses fractal analysis to quantify the spatial changes of forest resources caused by an increase of deforested areas. The method introduced contributes to the evaluation of forest resources being under significant pressure from anthropogenic activities. The pressure on the forest resources has been analyzed for Maramureș County, one of the most deforested counties in Romania. In order to evaluate this, the deforested areas were calculated for the period of 2001–2014, by using the Global Forest Change 2000–2014 database. The Fractal Fragmentation Index (FFI) and Fixed Grid 2D Lacunarity (FG2DL) were used to quantify the degree of fragmentation and dispersion of the forested areas, and thereby the extent to which a forest area is affected by deforestation. The process of quantifying the pressure on forested areas included the creation of a database for the period of 2000–2014 containing economic activities (turnover) related to woody recourses, important indicators of forest exploitation. Taken together, the results obtained indicate a dramatic increase in deforested areas (over 19,122 ha in total for the period of analysis), in Maramureș County.

Evaluation of wood forest resources

In the current economic conditions economic evaluation of forest resources takes on new importance, which requires determining the value of assets that owned or constant use of forestry enterprises during the reporting period. Formation of accounting information on the cost of forest resources will provide an opportunity to analyze the benefits of the use of forest resources and their participation in the formation of national wealth. Research of scientific papers suggests that most scientists prove the necessity and possibility of continuous evaluation of all types of forest resources. As the forest is a difficult subject for evaluation, therefore, to represent them in the accounting system and financial reporting, we offer the following facilities to carry out accounting of forests, namely land for forestry purposes; wood forest resources (for production stages); forest products, which comes as a result of felling of trees or collecting non-wood forest resources. Forest resource evaluation can be made by enterprise independently based on international and national accounting standards, and can be conducted by independent certified expert appraisers.

Modeling frequency distributions of tree height, diameter and crown area by six probability functions for open forests of Quercus persica in Iran

The prediction of the distribution of quantitative variables in a forest stand is of great interest to forest managers, for the evaluation of forest resources and scheduling of future silvicultural treatments. The aim of this research was to model the distribution of quantitative variables for Quercus persica in open forests in Iran. To investigate the probability distribution of trees in natural stands, 642 trees were selected for measurement using a systematic random sampling method. Selected trees were measured and data were analyzed. Gamma, beta, normal, lognormal, exponential and Weibull probability distributions were fitted to the height distribution of trees. Variables of distribution functions were estimated using the maximum likelihood estimation method. Actual probability and probability which derived from functions was compared using Kolmogorov–Smirnov and Anderson–Darling tests. Beta, Weibull and Weibull probability distributions explained the distributions of tree height, DBH and crown area.

Evaluation of the capability of SPOT5-HRG data for predicting tree density in the northern Zagros forests

Quantitative attributes of forest stands are valuable data that are very important for the evaluation of forest resources. Regarding to unique structure of Zagros forests, we tried to predict tree density using SPOT5-HRG satellite data in this study. A systematic random grid consisting of 319 circle plots (0.1 ha) were used to collect field data. Spectral values related to field plots were extracted from original and the artificial bands composed of vegetation indices and principle component analysis. Ancillary data such as slope, aspect and elevation were also used. Multiple regression and stepwise method were used to predict tree density from 4 original spectral bands and 16 artificial bands as independent variables. Ancillary data didn' t improve the results. For considering geographic aspects effects, the study also was done for different aspects, separately. In the general model, predictive variables were PCAC2 (the 2nd component of PCA) and B2 (Red band) with the adjusted coefficient of determination of 0.26%. In the suggested models for the northern, southern, eastern and western forests, independent variables are PCAC2, Ratio, PCAC2, AVI, B1 and PVI, AVI, B3, with the adjusted coefficient of determination of 31%, 34%, 19% and 42%, respectively. The Results of model validation tests showed that all of the presented equations had a reliable validation and are useful for this area, however, for better estimation of tree density, we should find the other approaches.

Spatial prediction of diameter distribution models

The prediction of the diameter distribution of a stand is of great interest to forest managers for the evaluation of forest resources and scheduling the future silvicultural treatments. In the present paper, we present a geostatistical approach for the prediction of diameter distributions. The advantage of the proposed method over traditional prediction systems is that it is possible to estimate the diameter distribution at locations, where no secondary variables are measured. The Weibull and the Chaudhry–Ahmad probability density functions were fitted by maximum likelihood to the diameter distribution of 176 plots of pure, even aged stands of Pinus pinaster Ait. located in the province of Segovia of central Spain. Data were taken from the Second National Forest Inventory of Spain. The spatial “behaviour” of the parameters of the density functions was studied by variogram analysis and the results showed that all parameters were spatially correlated to some extent. Kriging was used for the interpolation of parameters of the diameter distributions over the study area. Cross-validation was performed separately for every parameter. Results showed that the Weibull function gave smaller relative bias in the prediction of the diameter sum. Additionally, the likelihood ratio was used to compare the fit of the density functions. This ratio was computed twice: firstly when parameters were estimated by maximum likelihood and secondly, when parameters were predicted by kriging-cross-validation. The Chaudhry–Ahmad function fitted better the actual diameter distributions when maximum-likelihood was used for parameter estimation. Nevertheless, the fit of the Weibull was much better when kriging was used for parameter prediction. The prediction of the diameter distribution was made using data from the National Forest Inventory, therefore predictions should be used for regional planning and estimation of forest resources at this spatial scale (national). For forest management purposes at a local scale, data sources taken at fine spatial scales should be preferred. The spatial discontinuities that the forest compartments introduce during kriging interpolation are finally discussed and some solutions are proposed.

Small-format aerial photographic systems for the evaluation of forest resources in Latin America

For several decades, 35 and 70 mm aerial photographic systems have been used in North America, Europe and other regions, for the acquisition of forest resources information on relatively small extension areas. On the contrary, in Latin America, where there is a lack of information about those resources, the small-format systems have recieved limited use. In part, this is situation is due to the scant knowledge that exists in the region about the potential these systems have and the ways of using them. The purpose of this article is to provide personnel and institutions involved in the evaluation and monitoring of forest resources with basic information and support references about the general characetristics, the integration of small-format aerial photographic systems, the planning and execution of missions of this type, the interpretation and restitution of 35 and 70 mm photographs, and applications in forestry.