Remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems technology were successfully used to inventory white pine resources in a 21-county area in eastern Ohio. The inventory required less labor and time than traditional forest inventory techniques and produced acreage and volume estimates with standard errors substantially below those of existing inventories. Conifer stands within the 21-county study area were identified on 1994 Landstat 5 Thematic Mapper images using a maximum likelihood classification algorithm in ERDAS IMAGINE. The validity of the conifer classification; the proportion of white pine; and the area, volume, and other stand characteristics were evaluated by surveys. Within the 21-county study area, 36,454 acres of conifers were identified, 24,147 acres of which were white pine containing 570.5 million board-feet volume. White pine stands in the study area averaged 9.8 acres in size; 37 years in age; 11.7 inches average diameter at breast height; 162 square feet basal area; 23,625 board feet of volume; and had a 35-year white pine site index of 76 feet. These results indicate that Ohio's white pine resource is considerably larger and may have substantially greater economic development potential than previous inventories suggested.
Back | Forward | Table of Contents
All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status.
Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Adm. and Director, OSU Extension.
TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868