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Probability- and model-based approaches to inference for proportion forest using satellite imagery as ancillary data

Formally Refereed

Abstract

Estimates of forest area are among the most common and useful information provided by national forest inventories. The estimates are used for local and national purposes and for reporting to international agreements such as the Montréal Process, the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe, and the Kyoto Protocol. The estimates are usually based on sample plot data and are calculated using probability-based estimators. These estimators are familiar, generally unbiased, and entail only limited computational complexity, but they do not produce the maps that users are increasingly requesting, and they generally do not produce sufficiently precise estimates for small areas. Model-based estimators overcome these disadvantages, but they may be biased and estimation of variancesmay be computationally intensive. The study objective was to compare probability- and model-based estimators of mean proportion forest using maps based on a logistic regression model, forest inventory data, and Landsat imagery. For model-based estimators, methods for evaluating bias and reducing the computational intensity were also investigated.

Keywords

forest inventory, small area estimation, inference, stratification

Citation

McRoberts, Ronald E. 2010. Probability- and model-based approaches to inference for proportion forest using satellite imagery as ancillary data. Remote Sensing of Environment. 114: 1017-1025.
Citations
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/40477