Nevada Photo-Based Inventory Pilot (NPIP) photo sampling procedures

Abstract

The Forest Inventory and Analysis program (FIA) of the U.S. Forest Service monitors status and trends in forested ecoregions nationwide. The complex nature of this broad-scale, strategic-level inventory demands constant evolution and evaluation of methods to get the best information possible while continuously increasing efficiency. In 2004, the "Nevada Photo-Based Inventory Pilot" (NPIP) was launched and involved the acquisition and processing of large-scale aerial photography (LSP) throughout the State of Nevada. The over-arching goals of this pilot are to exceed information requirements, accelerate inventory timelines, and reduce inventory costs. Meeting these objectives requires the development of several complex and inter-related procedures, including photo-sampling protocol, statistical estimators, cover measurement techniques, and improved methods for mapping forest and nonforest attributes. This report documents the first of these procedures, the photo-sampling protocol for the NPIP project.

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