Geoinformation system for forestry

The main task of GIS in the forestry industry is to provide forestry experts and state authorities with spatial information on forest resources and ensuring control over the state and usage of the forest fund. Implementation of such a task is based on the combination of spatial information and databases on the objects of forest management. The GIS solves practical tasks related to the development of a system of measures aimed at ensuring rational forest management and usage of forest resources, effective recreation, conservation and protection of forests. Deliberate management of forest ecosystems based on GIS involves reviewing principles of organizing information support for forestry, developing new methods for analyzing alternatives for forest usage.

Introduction of modern geoinformation technologies (GIS, mobile mapping app, mobile data collectors, etc.) expands possibilities of forest fund valuation by forming thematic maps, obtaining detailed information on separate areas of forests, forecasting dynamics of forest fund in different scenarios of forestry production organization, surface construction and relief sections, and allows to carry out sustainable management of forests at all levels (forestry, forestry enterprise, region, State Committee).

New forest resources management strategy

• create and maintain in the current state spatial database of forest resources of the region;

• identify the connection between different but interrelated parameters (vegetation, soils, climate, etc.);

• carry out scientific evaluation and control over optimal usage of forests with an account for environmental and economic factors;

• objectively assess the state of vegetation within the region with an account for the terrain, hydrological and climatic regimes, as well as other factors and risks with the following introduction of amendments to the strategy of forest resources management;

• implement new geoinformation technologies for operational inventory of forests, ecological monitoring of forests, forest-pathological and fire inspection via special mobile app;

• promptly react to fast-changing situations within the forest fund: when updating the forest fund, in case of pest or disease issues, to determine the sanitary state of forests, for monitoring and environmental forecasting, to account for rare species of animals and plants, determine suitable conditions for their residence.

Structure of the GIS database for forestry

• basic geoinformation resources: a unified cartographic basis (astrophotography of the terrain) with a register of geographical names (springs, rivers, forest tracts), etc.;

• thematic information resources are supplemented with appropriate attributive component: boundaries of forestry, districts, areas, streams, roads, sources of forest ecosystems pollution and many others;

• complex or problem-oriented information resources that are a combination of basic and thematic resources that are united into a certain system with creation of a new resource for solving problems in forest management and forest ecosystem protection, as areas of forest damage caused by pests and diseases, other natural factors (wind-damage, storm-damage, snow-damage), zones of technogenic pollution of forests and lands of the forest fund, etc.