Forest inventory in Canada with emphasis on map production

Forest inventory procedures are likely to change or evolve at a more rapid rate over the next 15 years. Changes will be brought by changing forest management practices and priorities, increasing importance of environmental and multiple use issues, new technologies, increasing participation of industry, new market forces, and budgetary considerations.Map production is a major and costly component of forest inventory and one which will be much affected by these changes. This paper focuses on the map production component of forest inventory in Canada, but places it in the context of overall management inventory production. Inventory mapping procedures from provincial inventory cycles are summarized. The costs, time, and resources expended on each component of map production (photo acquisition, interpretation, transfer and drafting, and digitizing) are outlined. They are summarized in the context of the cost and resources needed for the total inventory process including volume sampling. Recent innovations, forces causing changes and rethinking of inventory philosophies, and future trends are discussed. Key words: forest inventory, GIS, map production, photo interpretation