Integration of Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques to improve national forest inventory in Southern Darfur State

Abstract

The study aims to compare forest inventory by using ground survey only and combination of ground survey, remote sensing and GIS techniques. This study covered parts of southern Darfur State. It covered about 5986289 hectares that is 45%of the total area of the southern Darfur State. The main objectives were to show the efficiency of remote sensing and GIS techniques in forest resources surveys and improvement of ground surveys to reduce efforts, time and money expended. The study used data from the National Forest Inventory (NFI) that was started in March 1995 and completed in July 1997. Data from AFRICOVER project (landsat images) of the same period (1995-1997) provided a good base-line for monitoring environmental changes, extent of forest areas, tree species composition and forest products in the country. The results show the classification of the land cover and calculations of the total area covered by forests, grazing and agricultural lands. The results also show map of the land cover, land use and crown closure for the trees on the area, the total volume for all trees was calculated .The total forest area from ground survey was 3 588 202 hectare, and the forest area according to land-sat images was 2 746 184 ha . The total woody volume in ground survey was 28 378 353 m3, the total volume according to land-sat images was 21 196 384 m3. The combination of ground survey and remote sensing images will be more effective to be used in future national forest inventories, because it reduces the number of sample plots to be laid out, reduces efforts, time and money expended, in forest inventories. The results and maps of this study can be used as a basis for updating the National Forest Inventory, and to make extrapolations for estimating parameters of forest areas which were not possible to reach during the NFI.