A Systematic Approach to Assess Forest Regeneration

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Abstract
As the area of second-growth and man-made forest increases, successful management will require increasingly efficient methods of data collection and use. Developing plantation assessment systems requires the definition of what information is useful in decision-making, how best to collect that information, and how best to present it to the decision-maker or forester. In this paper a system is described that processes field survey data collected by a portable datalogger through a relay of software programs. The programs provide data summary free-growing projection, application of a new spatial pattern statistic, and use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) for map production. The information generated will allow a forester to define whether the area needs brush control or fill planting, and whether those problems are localized (i.e. in brushy patches, or unstocked holes in the plantation) or spread through the entire area surveyed. The systematic collection and processing of survey data can also lead to the development of whole-forest silviculture planning models, comparing the estimated opportunities for growth and yield enhancement on a diversity of regenerating areas with economic criteria.

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