The benefits of geographic information systems (GIS) are endless when managing natural resources. Land information and mapping of forest land is a key element in the provision of forest yield information, and accurately planning and forecasting operations. Interpine utlises ESRI ArcMap software to provide land owners a range of GIS services
There are many reasons to ensure your forest or land is mapped within modern and compatible GIS systems. Most forest or land operations are planned and executed using area, that is hectares being the transaction unit. Maps and area play a vital role in planning, tracking, recording, and reporting all operations performed in a forest or on a patch of land.
Forest owners often think they have more forest area than is actually in productive stocked area. Most forest valuations and yield projections rely on net stocked area (NSA), and inaccuate stocked area statements will impact of the value of any resource inventory completed. When planning an inventory, sample design can be optimsied in advance using good map data.
Maps also play an important role in harvest planning and engineering, and without them there is no time efficient way of road and skid planning. Maps are key to sharing information visually to all involved (highlighting environmental or historical areas for example) and minimising costly mistakes in the field. Combined with reduced field validation and survey, good mapping can save forest owners a significant amount of money over a forest rotation.
Our services include:
Forest Mapping
- Creation / Editing of GIS Forest Maps Using ESRI ArcView 10
- Forest and Stand Mapping
- Area Measurement and Net Stocked Area Assessment
- Forest Stratification
- Overlay Your Own Map Data with Google Earth
- Auditing Exisiting Map Data
- Digitising
- Aerial Photography Interpretation
- Legal Cadastral Boundary Validation
- Plot Maps for Field Inventory
- Upload Data to GPS Units for Use in Field
- Preparation of Forest Shape Files to Emissions Trading Scheme Guidelines
Other Land Type Mapping
- Farm Station Maps
Orchard Maps
- Iwi Ownership Maps
Latest Land Information and GIS Mapping News and Articles
How Accurate Can We Expect Routine Location of Plots Under Forest Canopy Using GPS
24/02/2012 1:50:00 p.m.
Recently, we looked at GPS Precision (EPE). A few questions were also raised about plot location and I thought it might also be good to look at how accurate we could expect to locate the survey point inside the forest under a range of conditions and forest canopies.
The dataset used contains 320 survey points located throughout New Zealand. A recreational grade GPS (Garmin Map 60CSX) was used to locate the survey point in the field. At this point a survey grade Trimble ProXT GPS unit was raised to 5m and recorded 300-500 data points over a period of 20mins to 3 hours. This was... | GPS Accuracy Estimate (EPE) What is It ?
7/02/2012 1:58:00 p.m.
The use of recreational grade GPS (for example Garmin 60csx or Garmin 62S) is now standard practice for the location of forest inventory plots in New Zealand and Australia. We recently reviewed a few questions regarding the accuracy and precision of these GPS units, with many in the industry not understanding the measure of precision displayed to the user.
If the GPS displays an Accuracy of 10m, does this mean it is 10m from the actual / absolute location?
MOST DEFINITELY NOT !! Firstly it is a measure of precision and in no way indicates accuracy. GPS's display to the... | How Effective are LiDAR-based Forest Inventory Systems ?
9/12/2011 2:23:00 p.m.
ForestTech 2011 has held in late 2011 in both Australia and New Zealand. Interpine's Jonathan Dash and Hamish Marshall presented a discussion on Interpine's involvement in a range of trial work relating to LiDAR analysis. A quick overview of use and role of LiDAR in forest inventory systems was covered. Then a review of some of the practical decisions / advice we ourselves have worked through while planning and interrogating LiDAR datasets, including sample design, installing ground control plots, allocation of plot size and dealing with edge plots. Finally a brief summary example was given on its use in improving... | Interpine Offers Forestry Orientated LiDAR Analysis Training Course
17/08/2011 4:00:00 p.m.
After successfully completing our first Forestry Orientated LiDAR Analysis course to the final year students at the University of Canterbury in June 2011, Interpine is now offering this to the wider industry.
This is an introductory course learning how to manipulate and process LiDAR datasets, with a specific focus on forestry outputs. The course is lecturer is Dr Hamish Marshall.
The course covers the topics with hands-on labs and presentations, whereby students work through real world examples using New Zealand LiDAR derived datasets using the software such as FurgoViewer and FUSION. From getting started with LiDAR data, creating surfaces models... | Forest Canopy Drip-line Buffers for the Forest ETS Mapping
18/09/2010 12:21:00 a.m.
There are a number of guidelines and rules to consider when mapping forest areas when applying to be involved in the forestry ETS (Emissions Trading Scheme). One that is often missed by inexperienced forest mapping providers is the need to "position the polygon along the canopy drip-line at maturity". Simple mapping tools such as that provided by the MAF Online ETS tool only allows users to draw lines around forest based on the imagery shown. However this imagery could already be several years old, or the forest itself in the imagery has not yet reached maturity, potentially resulting in an... | High Precision Sub-meter GPS Performance under Forest Canopy in NZ
17/09/2010 11:24:00 p.m.
Interpine has been working with LiDAR ground control survey for several years now. To ensure that the LiDAR data is compared correctly with the ground control measurement data, high precision sub-metre GPS units are used to fix the location of the plot centres (Trimble ProXT GPS Units). Combined with the Allegro MX or Trimble Nomad handheld computers and Terrasync software these units collect detailed location and GPS satellite network information while onsite. This allows the data to be "post processed" bringing the accuracy of the plot centre fix in optimum conditions to less than 1m. However we all know the... | Mapping Your ETS Forests - Overview
17/09/2010 3:50:00 p.m.
If you're entering the forestry Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), you are likely to have been asked to map out your forest land. This is the first step used to estimate the total amount of carbon stored (i.e. the forest "carbon stocks"). Apart from determining your forest land area, it also confirms to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) that you have legal rights to the forest area mapped. MAF will also overlay the mapped area with historical aerial photos and satellite imagery reviewing the classification of forest land type (i.e. comparing the forest cover at 1990), to ensure it... |
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