Field-map
Encyclopedia
Field-Map is an integrated tool designed for computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...

 aided field data collection. It is used mainly for mapping of forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

 ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....

s and for data collection during field examinations. This application is able to work with multi-level relational database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...

 and also provides smooth communication with external devices such as GPS, laser rangefinders and inclinometer
Inclinometer
An inclinometer or clinometer is an instrument for measuring angles of slope , elevation or depression of an object with respect to gravity...

s. The Field-Map technology is currently used for national forest inventories
Forest inventory
Forest inventory is the systematic collection of data and forest information for assessment or analysis. It is also commonly known as timber cruising. It is important for owners to cruise the timber to get an estimate of the value and possible uses of the timber...

 in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

, Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...

, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

, and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

.

Applications

Field-Map is used in current forest management
Forest management
200px|thumb|right|[[Sustainable development|Sustainable]] forest management carried out by [[Complejo Forestal y Maderero Panguipulli|Complejo Panguipulli]] has contributed to the preservation of the forested landscape around [[Neltume]], a sawmill town in Chile...

, but also during the realization of forest inventories
Forest inventory
Forest inventory is the systematic collection of data and forest information for assessment or analysis. It is also commonly known as timber cruising. It is important for owners to cruise the timber to get an estimate of the value and possible uses of the timber...

, forest management plans, monitoring of carbon
Carbon
Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...

 assessment, REDD
Redd
Redd is a Turkish rock band established in 1996 by tenor opera singer Doğan Duru and guitarist Berke Hatipoğlu under the name Ten. They used to play at bars until they set up their own studio in 2004. Their first album, entitled "50/50", produced by Levent Büyük was published a year later by...

, wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...

 traceability
Traceability
Traceability refers to the completeness of the information about every step in a process chain.The formal definition: Traceability is the ability to chronologically interrelate uniquely identifiable entities in a way that is verifiable....

, the mapping of power line
Power Line
Power Line is an American political blog, providing news and commentary from a conservative point-of-view. It was originally written by three lawyers who attended Dartmouth College together: John H. Hinderaker, Scott W. Johnson, and Paul Mirengoff...

s corridors, etc.. Field-Map is used for example in the national parks and natural reserves, in inventories of natural heritage and the habitat
Habitat (ecology)
A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...

 mapping
Cartography
Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...

.

Mapping

A system of temporary reference points (detected by laser or GPS) established in the field allows users to move freely within the study area without losing the georeferencing. It allows the user to perform the mapping of tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

s, deadwood
Deadwood
Deadwood may refer to:in geography*Deadwood, Alberta, hamlet in Alberta, Canada*Deadwood, California , several unincorporated communities in California, United States*Deadwood, Oregon, unincorporated community in Oregon, United States...

, transect
Transect
A transect is a path along which one records and counts occurrences of the phenomena of study .It requires an observer to move along a fixed path and to count occurrences along the path and, at the same time, obtain the distance of the object from the path...

s, repeated measurements, data verification etc..

Dendrometric measurements

Field-Map allows complete dendrometric
Dendrometry
Dendrometry is the branch of botany that is concerned with the measurement of the various dimensions of trees, such as their diameter, size, shape, age, overall volume, thickness of the bark, etc., as well as the statistical properties of tree stands, including measures of central tendency and...

 measurements such as tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

 height, crown
Crown (botany)
The crown of a plant refers to the totality of the plant's aboveground parts, including stems, leaves, and reproductive structures. A plant canopy consists of one or more plant crowns growing in a given area....

 projection / profile, stem
Plant stem
A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaves, inflorescence , conifer cones, roots, other stems etc. The internodes distance one node from another...

 profile, estimation of volume of timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...

 (even by quality). These key measurements are used for estimation of carbon
Carbon
Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...

 sequestered in the plants (through allometric
Tree allometry
Tree allometry establishes quantitative relations between some key characteristic dimensions of trees and other properties...

 relationships).

Inventories

Field-Map system has been originally developed for the purpose of the national forest inventories. Currently is the only software and hardware solution that is being used in numerous national forest inventories.
During the forest inventory
Forest inventory
Forest inventory is the systematic collection of data and forest information for assessment or analysis. It is also commonly known as timber cruising. It is important for owners to cruise the timber to get an estimate of the value and possible uses of the timber...

 is completed the mapping of trees, dendrometric measures (height of trees, diameters etc.), descrtiption of forest stand etc.

Carbon stock assessment

REDD
Redd
Redd is a Turkish rock band established in 1996 by tenor opera singer Doğan Duru and guitarist Berke Hatipoğlu under the name Ten. They used to play at bars until they set up their own studio in 2004. Their first album, entitled "50/50", produced by Levent Büyük was published a year later by...

 schemes should ensure the accurate assessment of biomass
Biomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....

. Field-Map technology has been used in a number of projects for the estimation of volumes of carbon stocks and tracking changes. The capacity of Field-Map system to integrate information from various remote sensors with in situ measurements ensures maximum productivity of inventory projects focused on growth stocks, biomass and estimation of carbon stocks. Monitoring is most often performed on permanent plots.

Monitoring of natural reserves

Long-term monitoring of natural reserves is important for management of protected areas. Field-Map meets the requirements of the long-term ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....

 monitoring, covering establishment of permanent plots and transect
Transect
A transect is a path along which one records and counts occurrences of the phenomena of study .It requires an observer to move along a fixed path and to count occurrences along the path and, at the same time, obtain the distance of the object from the path...

s, repeated measurements, data processing and 2D/3D visualization.

Surveying

Field-Map provides a complete solution for surveying
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...

 of vegetation around power lines: detailed terrain profile measurement, exact mapping of vegetation, previsions and modeling of growth, maps printing for forest services contractors, etc.

Stem Analyst

Stem Analyst calculate parameters for global stem profile model and use it for calculation of timber volume. Contains also module for calculating assortments and expressing it as financial value of the timber within specified area.

Measurement devices

Field-Map is based on efficient use of electronic or traditional measurement devices such as laser rangefinder, electronic compass
Compass
A compass is a navigational instrument that shows directions in a frame of reference that is stationary relative to the surface of the earth. The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west. Intermediate directions are also defined...

, GPS or electronic caliper. Field-Map natural and easy combination of measurement devices with the data storage and computing facilities of field computer enables user to obtain maximum effect from technology.

RIC

Field-Map supports a broad range of electronic measurement devices. The main equipment, which is usually the most important in forestry mapping and measurement is a combination of a laser rangefinder, an electronic inclinometer
Inclinometer
An inclinometer or clinometer is an instrument for measuring angles of slope , elevation or depression of an object with respect to gravity...

, and an electronic compass
Compass
A compass is a navigational instrument that shows directions in a frame of reference that is stationary relative to the surface of the earth. The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west. Intermediate directions are also defined...

 (RIC). Field-Map fully exploits the potential of RIC to measure distances and vertical and horizontal angles for three-dimensional mapping of forest structure.

Optical scope

Field-Map fully supports optical scope for remote diameter measurement. Using optical scope mounted on laser range-finder allows measuring tree diameter in any height. Field-Map supports measurement of single diameters and also measurement of whole stem profile.

Additional supported equipment such as electronic calipers for tree diameter measurement or geodetic equipment
Geodesy
Geodesy , also named geodetics, a branch of earth sciences, is the scientific discipline that deals with the measurement and representation of the Earth, including its gravitational field, in a three-dimensional time-varying space. Geodesists also study geodynamical phenomena such as crustal...

 such as angle encoder or Leica
Leica
Leica Camera AG, a German optics company, produces Leica cameras. The predecessor of the company, formerly known as Ernst Leitz GmbH, is now three companies: Leica Camera AG, Leica Geosystems AG, and Leica Microsystems AG, producing cameras, geosurvey equipment, and microscopes, respectively...

 or Sokkia
Sokkia
Sokkia Co., Ltd was founded in 1920 as Sokkisha in Japan. It makes measurement instruments for the surveying, construction and industrial measurement industries....

 tachymeters might be used.

Videos


See also

  • Deforestation
    Deforestation
    Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....

  • Dendrometry
    Dendrometry
    Dendrometry is the branch of botany that is concerned with the measurement of the various dimensions of trees, such as their diameter, size, shape, age, overall volume, thickness of the bark, etc., as well as the statistical properties of tree stands, including measures of central tendency and...

  • Forest management
    Forest management
    200px|thumb|right|[[Sustainable development|Sustainable]] forest management carried out by [[Complejo Forestal y Maderero Panguipulli|Complejo Panguipulli]] has contributed to the preservation of the forested landscape around [[Neltume]], a sawmill town in Chile...

  • REDD-plus
  • Silviculture
    Silviculture
    Silviculture is the practice of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests to meet diverse needs and values. The name comes from the Latin silvi- + culture...

  • Tree allometry
    Tree allometry
    Tree allometry establishes quantitative relations between some key characteristic dimensions of trees and other properties...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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