Digitally determining forest inventory units with an ecological classification system

Management-level forest resource data in China were obtained with a combination of two forest inventories. However, inconsistencies in the spatial attributes of forest data vary between the two inventory types and between two inventories of the same type. The inconsistencies make it inconvenient for long-term forest management planning with digital technologies. Ecological Land Types (ELTs) and Ecological Land Type Phases (ELTPs) have been mapped in selected forestry regions in northeast China, where important forest industries are located. The boundaries of ELTs are determined by geomorphic conditions, which are quantified by Digital Elevation Models (DEM); ELTPs are classified by overlaying ELTs with forest vegetation data layers that are obtained with both remotely sensed and ground data. The ELTPs represent the divisions of land in terms of both natural and human-induced forest conditions, and therefore they are reliable units for forest inventories and management. This paper introduces a case study for digitally determining forest inventory units in Benxi City, Liaoning Province, northeast China. The general objective of the study was to explain how a compatible forest inventory system should be designed and why the compatible forest inventory system was significant to digital forestry in China.