Virtual Forest Management: Possibilities and Challenges
Authors
Jori Uusitalo
University of Joensuu, Finland
Brian Orland
Pennsylvania State University, USA
Abstract
Scientists and managers are increasingly turning to computer modeling and visualization tools to enable them to evaluate the effects of harvest practices better, depict various characteristics and variation existing in the forest, and communicate the impact of environmental changes. This paper examines the suitability of virtual reality (VR) technology in supporting forest managers or forest owners in their decisions.
VR is particularly useful for helping to deal with the following issues in forest management planning: time dependence, irreversibility of decisions, spatial-quantitative variation of features and multiple objectives. It helps managers and stakeholders understand the relationship between underlying data and landscape planning. Some of the key challenges faced in making VR work are: insufficient resolution in forest inventory data, need to re-delineate stands to allow for multiple use planning, adjusting realism of features in the images and linking data currently held by a variety of disparate agencies and owners. Existing mean-based inventories will, for the short to medium term, limit the extent to which VR technologies are used in actual forest management planning.
