Three-Dimensional Landscape Visualizations: New Technique towards Wildfire and Forest Bark Beetle Management

After a century of fire exclusion, western US forests are vulnerable to wildfire and bark beetles. Although integrated fire and pest management programs (e.g., prescribed burning and thinning) are being implemented efficiently, damage to forests continues. Management challenges come in the forms of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Forests 2010-06, Vol.1 (2), p.82-98
Main Authors: Chou, Chiao-Ying, Song, Bo, Hedden, Roy L., Williams, Thomas M., Culin, Joseph D., Post, Christopher J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Communication
Decision making
Forest & brush fires
Forest management
Geographic information systems
Landowners
Landscape architecture
Natural resources
Ownership
Prescribed fire
Remote sensing
Simulation
Social interaction
Visualization
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Summary:After a century of fire exclusion, western US forests are vulnerable to wildfire and bark beetles. Although integrated fire and pest management programs (e.g., prescribed burning and thinning) are being implemented efficiently, damage to forests continues. Management challenges come in the forms of diverse land ownership, dynamic forest landscapes, the uncertainty effect of management strategies, and social interaction of the increasing wildland-urban interface. Three-dimensional (3-D) landscape visualization is comprised of multi-spatial, multi-temporal, and multi-expression elements. Supplemented with GIS database, remote sensing images, and simulation models, this technique can provide a comprehensive communication medium for decision makers, scientists, stakeholders, and the public with diverse backgrounds on the wildfire and forest bark beetle management. The technique we describe here can be used to organize complicated temporal and spatial information, evaluate alternative management operations, and improve decision-making processes. The application and limitations of our technique are also discussed.
ISSN:1999-4907
1999-4907
DOI:10.3390/f1020082