New Technologies for Expedited Forest Inventory Using Smartphone Applications

Author:

Sandim André1,Amaro Mariana2ORCID,Silva Maria Emilia3ORCID,Cunha Jorge2,Morais Susana4,Marques Alexandra2,Ferreira André5,Lousada José Luis6ORCID,Fonseca Teresa78ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Doctoral Program, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal

2. ColAB Forestwise, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Quinta dos Prados Campus da, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal

3. Department of Forest Sciences and Landscape Architecture, Citab/University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal

4. Navigator, 4150-353 Porto, Portugal

5. Biond, Associação das Bioindústrias de Base Florestal, 1069-076 Lisboa, Portugal

6. Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences (CITAB, Inov4Agro), Citab/University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal

7. Departamento de Ciências Florestais e Arquitetura Paisagista (CIFAP), University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal

8. Centro de Estudos Florestais (CEF), Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal

Abstract

The forest inventory plays a crucial role in forest management planning, and it is the first step in planning actions for forest production. However, conducting an inventory can be expensive and complex. Forest inventory applications on smartphones have emerged as an alternative to traditional methods and they aim to make field data collection more accessible to non-professionals while ensuring accuracy in determining the volume of wood in a given area. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Katam, Arboreal, and Trestima applications compared to traditional data collection methods. The study focuses on assessing the stand density and diameter of sampled trees—two key variables that are assessed in forest inventories. Two species, maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton) and Eucalyptus spp. (mainly Eucalyptus globulus and Eucalyptus nitens), were used to evaluate the performance of the methods, with assessments performed in the stands of diverse dendrometric characteristics, specifically those regarding the tree age, stand density, and topographic conditions (flat or sloping terrain). For the purpose of comparison, goodness-of-fit statistics (R2, RMSE, and BIAS) were calculated, and an analysis of the diameter distribution and comparison of the mean diameter, number of trees per hectare, and basal area were performed. In general, the applications were accurate, and the average basal area did not differ significantly from the traditional method. The diameter measurements showed good accuracy. The accuracy of the applications varied depending on the terrain and forest characteristics, with the applications performing better in areas with flat terrain, as well as with older forests that were regular and had low under-cover density. In contrast, the applications performed worse in younger, irregular forests with sloping terrain, high tree density, and those with a great deal of understory vegetation. The applications still need to evolve in evaluating other important variables (such as tree height or volume) as they are currently estimated from auxiliary variables through mathematical equations.

Publisher

MDPI AG

Subject

Forestry

Reference17 articles.

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2. Robbins, W., and Young, H. (1968). The Forestry Chronicle, Canadian Institute of Forestry.

3. Freitas, A., and Wichert, M. (1998). Comparação Entre Instrumentos Tradicionais de Medição de Diâmetro e Altura com o Criterion 400.

4. A Rewiew of Past Research on Dendrometers;Clark;For. Sci.,2000

5. Measurement errors in the use of smartphones as low-cost forestry hypsometers;Villasante;Silva Fenn.,2014

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