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Research Article | Open Access

The national forest inventory in China:history - results - international context

WeiSheng Zeng1(), Erkki Tomppo2, Sean P. Healey3,  Klaus V. Gadow4,5,6
Academy of Forest Inventory and Planning, State Forestry Administration, Beijing 100714, China
Natural Resources Institute Finland, Helsinki, Finland
Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Ogden, UT, USA
University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
Department of Forestry and Wood Technology, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa
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Abstract

Background

National forest resource assessments and monitoring, commonly known as National Forest Inventories (NFI's), constitute an important national information infrastructure in many countries.

Methods

This study presents details about developments of the NFI in China, including sampling and plot design, and the uses of alternative data sources, and specifically.

• reviews the evolution of the national forest inventory in China through the 20th and 21st centuries, with some reference to Europe and the US;

• highlights the emergence of some common international themes: consistency of measurement; more efficient sampling designs; implementation of improved technology; expansion of the variables monitored; scientific transparency;

• presents an example of how China's expanding NFI exemplifies these global trends.

Results

Main results and important changes in China's NFI are documented, both to support continued trend analysis and to provide data users with historical perspective.

Conclusions

New technologies and data needs ensure that the Chinese NFI, like the national inventories in other countries, will continue to evolve. Within the context of historical change and current conditions, likely directions for this evolution are suggested.

Keywords

ChinaEuropeUSANational forest inventoriesForest inventory and analysis

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Forest Ecosystems
Volume 2 Issue 4,
December 2015
Article number: 23
DOI: 10.1186/s40663-015-0047-2
Cite this article:
Zeng W, Tomppo E, Healey SP, et al. The national forest inventory in China:history - results - international context. Forest Ecosystems, 2015, 2(4): 23. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40663-015-0047-2
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