Application of China’s National Forest Continuous Inventory Database

Abstract

The maintenance of a timely, reliable and accurate spatial database on current forest ecosystem conditions and changes is essential to characterize and assess forest resources and support sustainable forest management. Information for such a database can be obtained only through a continuous forest inventory. The National Forest Continuous Inventory (NFCI) is the first level of China's three-tiered inventory system. The NFCI is administered by the State Forestry Administration; data are acquired by five inventory institutions around the country. Several important components of the database include land type, forest classification and ageclass/ age-group. The NFCI database in China is constructed based on 5-year inventory periods, resulting in some of the data not being timely when reports are issued. To address this problem, a forest growth simulation model has been developed to update the database for years between the periodic inventories. In order to aid in forest plan design and management, a three-dimensional virtual reality system of forest landscapes for selected units in the database (compartment or sub-compartment) has also been developed based on Virtual Reality Modeling Language. In addition, a transparent internet publishing system for a spatial database based on open source WebGIS (UMN Map Server) has been designed and utilized to enhance public understanding and encourage free participation of interested parties in the development, implementation, and planning of sustainable forest management.

Quantifying Live Aboveground Biomass and Forest Disturbance of Mountainous Natural and Plantation Forests in Northern Guangdong, China, Based on Multi-Temporal Landsat, PALSAR and Field Plot Data

“…The National Forest Inventory (NFI) provides highly detailed information about forest vegetation composition and structure, from which plot-based estimates of forest conditions can be calculated [8]. China's NFI is constructed based on 5-year inventory periods including forest type, area, volume, growth, cutting and changes [9,10].…”

China’s National Monitoring Program on Ecological Functions of Forests: An Analysis of the Protocol and Initial Results

“…Sample plots, including permanent ground plots and remote sensing interpretation plots, are located on 1-km grid cells. The usual size of the plots is 0.067 hectares but vary from 0.04 to 0.08 hectares in different provinces [15]. Different provinces have different number of permanent ground plots (e.g., 9076 plots on a 4 by 8 km grid in Heilongjiang Province, 12,936 plots on a 2 by 2 km grid in Ningxia Autonomous Region), which are decided by the total area of forest lands and the allowed sampling errors in each province [18].…”

“…Eight inventories have been completed to date. Information gathered in the first six inventories was largely aimed at managing the production of timber and other non-timber forest products [15]. Forest management in China has converted from timber-centered only to focus on both wood production and ecological functions at the beginning of the 21st century [16].…”

The role of forests in climate change mitigation : a discursive-institutional analysis of REDD+ MRV

“…Studies show that these investments have improved technical and institutional capacity for forest resource assessments in some countries. However, unlike in some developed countries where some forms of national forest inventories have been conducted, sometimes already for several centuries (Holmgren and Persson, 2002a, b;Lund, no.date;Tomppo et al, 2010a); Xie et al (2011), national forest surveys in developing countries started only recently (see FAO, 1993;Janz and Persson, 2002). Nevertheless, early national forest inventories mainly quantified forest area, growing stock and, rarely, changes over a time period Holmgren and Persson, 2002a, b;Mohren et al, 2012;Tomppo et al, 2010a).…”

“…Although the variables included in national forest surveys have been influenced by international developments (Holmgren and Persson, 2002a, b;Lei et al, 2009) Although the development of forest inventories in developing countries has been examined in terms of technical aspects, such as sampling strategies, plot designs, use of RS and information technologies, et cetera (Hansen et al, 2008;Holmgren and Persson, 2002a;Joseph et al, 2013a;Lei et al, 2010;McRoberts and Tomppo, 2007;Romijn et al, 2012;Tomppo et al, 2010a;Xie et al, 2011), exactly how and to what extent the international discussion on REDD+ MRV has shaped institutional arrangements for forest measurements in developing countries is unknown. This paper aims to bridge this knowledge gap by examining: (1) the historical development of institutional arrangements for forest assessments in Peru; and (2) how and to what extent the evolution of these institutional arrangements have been shaped by international processes on forests, especially REDD+ MRV.…”