Citation: Sonti SH (2015) Application of Geographic Information System (GIS) in Forest Management. J Geogr Nat Disast 5: 145. doi:10.4172/2167-
0587.1000145
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Volume 5 • Issue 3 • 1000145
J Geogr Nat Disast
ISSN: 2167-0587 JGND, an open access journal
interfaces have evolved to become very accessible to the non-technical
user. Simple and inexpensive GPS units are available with accuracies of
10 to 20 meters, and more sophisticated precision agriculture systems
can obtain centimeter level accuracies. Reected radiation in the
infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which is invisible to the
human eye, is of particular importance for vegetation studies [2].
Remote sensing: Remote sensing technologies are used to gather
information about the surface of the earth from a distant platform,
usually a satellite or airborne sensor. Most remotely sensed data used
for mapping and spatial analysis is collected as reected electromagnetic
radiation, which is processed into a digital image that can be overlaid
with other spatial data Chuvieco and Congalton [3].
Geographic information systems: Geographic Information
Systems applications enable the storage, management, and analysis of
large quantities of spatially distributed data. ese data are associated
with their particular geographic features. For example, water quality
data would be linked with a sampling site, represented by a point. Data
on crop yields might be associated with elds or experimental plots,
represented on a map by polygons. A GIS can manage dierent data
types occupying the same geographic space. For example, a biological
control agent and its prey may be distributed in dierent abundances
across a variety of plant types in an experimental plot. e power of a
GIS lies in its ability to analyze relationships between features and their
associated data.
is analytical ability results in the generation of new information,
as patterns and spatial relationships are revealed.
GIS applications in general
Anon [4] explained that the uses of GIS, GPS, and RS technologies,
either individually or in combination, span a broad range of
applications and degrees of complexity. Simple applications might
involve determining the location of sampling sites, plotting maps for
use in the eld, or examining the distribution of soil types in relation to
yields and productivity. More complex applications take advantage of
the analytical capabilities of GIS and RS soware. ese might include
vegetation classication for predicting crop yield or environmental
impacts, modelling of surface water drainage patterns, or tracking
animal migration patterns [4].
GIS applications can be grouped into various categories depending
on the level of integration with other forest management and nancial
systems. ese categories include
• Data collection and maintenance.
• Map production.
• Data viewing and query.
• Decision support systems.
GIS application in forest management
GIS for strategic planning and modeling: Forest management
planning involves making predictions about what the future forest will
look like relative to alternative management activities. is ability is
crucial to nearly all aspects of management forecasting, particularly
long term wood and wildlife supply. According to Kane [5] GIS stores
both the geographic and numerical structure of the forest stands
and links that spatial database to the planning models. It allows the
manager to eectively add both the important temporal and spatial
dimensions to the management planning process. Within the limits of
the inventory and model, the manager can then map what the forest
will look like in 5,10, 25, or 100 years in the future.
Map production: Forest managers require a wide variety of maps
to assist with their daily activities. Plantation maps are most commonly
used for location purposes and may contain additional useful
information such as roads, rivers, compartment boundaries, planted
species, and compartment size. Other features such as topographic
features (contours), infrastructure, water points, re breaks, neighbours
and conservation areas may be also included in the map [5].
Fire management: e eect of re on forest resources is another
important management concern. Management activities include re
prevention, wildlife control, prescribed burning, and post re recovery
actions. e modelling capabilities of GIS have been quite eective
in this context. Forest re managers have used GIS for fuel mapping,
weather condition mapping, and re danger rating. Forest res have
an important inuence on the vegetation cover, animals, plants, soil,
stream ow, air quality, microclimate, and even general climate [3].
e loss of timber is obvious and so is the damage to life and property.
e loss of recreation value of the forest and the destruction of wildlife
habitat are also consequences of forest res.
e key to managing approved burning activities was the ability
to anticipate re behaviour aer ignition. Chuvieco et al. [3] explained
that re behaviour models have been developed from fuel models to
predict the re intensity based on factors such as slope, elevation, site
exposure, wind speed, relative humidity, cloud cover, temperature, and
live and dead fuel moisture. ese models are not spatial, however,
and are typically used to predict re behaviour for a fairly large area.
To increase the sensitivity of the re behaviour models to spatial
variability within the park, re behaviour models were fun with a
raster based GIS. With input layers stored in the GIS, its mathematical
modelling capabilities, along with selected lookup tables, were then
used to implement several fuel and re intensity models. By comparing
the predicted re behaviour with actual burn conditions, Wells and
McKinsey concluded that the GIS implementation of re behaviour
models was useful in locating potential control areas, planning ignition
patterns, and accommodating sensitive areas that would be adversely
aected by high re intensities [3].
Harvest planning: Good forest management practice requires
detailed planning of harvesting activities. Harvest planning activities
include the identication of felling directions, extraction routes, depots
and sensitive zones such as wetlands. Maps constitute a basic planning
tool for these activities [5]. Other tactical harvest planning functions
utilize maps to identify planned felling over a number of years, and to
consolidate felling areas and extraction routes thereby permitting the
ecient use of harvesting equipment and other resources.
Resource management: Wulder and Franklin [6] mentioned that
collecting forest inventory data and monitoring changes are critical to
forest management activities. Yet, a GIS can build on these activities
by incorporating models to guide, for example, timber harvesting,
silviculture and re management activities, or predict fuel wood
and other resource supplies. Other priorities, such as providing for
wildlife habitat, ensuring recreation opportunities and minimizing
visual impacts of harvesting, are also growing in importance. Some
applications deal with single management issues, such as timber
production, while others illustrate how a mix of management concerns
can be integrated through the use of GIS, such as timber production
combined with habitat protection.