![]() ![]() ![]() These technologies foster the development of new applications and innovative approaches suitable for assessing a diverse range of forest attributes in the field. Besides these traditional applications of remote sensing, new technologies and platforms, including drones ( Goodbody et al., 2017) and proximate sensing such as terrestrial and mobile laser scanning ( Bauwens et al., 2016 Liang et al., 2016) and sensors associated with smart devices ( Siipilehto et al., 2016) have evolved rapidly. ![]() Fine spatial resolution optical satellites, some of them operating in constellations of multiple micro-satellites, provide spatially detailed data with a high temporal revisit that can increasingly match the information requirements associated with emergency responses or disturbance events ( Dalponte et al., 2020). In some regions, airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) as well as digital aerial photogrammetry (DAP) have emerged as indispensable technologies for mapping forest structure and as key auxiliary information to improve estimates of forest attributes provided by forest inventories ( Næsset, 2002 Nelson, 2013 White et al., 2013a). These types of products are in turn used in some jurisdictions to enhance estimates of official national sampling programs, such as national forest inventories, and to provide spatially explicit estimates of forest attributes ( Tomppo et al., 2008 McRoberts et al., 2010). Furthermore, maps and data products representing forest types or tree species information that are derived from time series of freely available passive optical satellite data are being generated for regions of varying sizes ( Grabska et al., 2020 Hermosilla et al., 2022). Global forest cover and change products ( Hansen et al., 2013), and forest disturbance products covering large portions of continents and time-periods spanning several decades ( White et al., 2017b) are available. ![]() Now, 35 years after Hildebrandt (1987), remote sensing has become a much more common technology in forestry. Thirty-five years later in 1987, the use of photo-interpretation to support forest management was well established and widely used however, again only a small group of forest experts expressed interest in the new spaceborne remotely sensed datasets available through programs such as Landsat and SPOT ( Wulder et al., 2019). While Hildebrandt highlights that in the 1950s remote sensing scientists agreed that remotely sensed data were likely to be useful for forestry, he also notes that they faced widespread lack of interest amongst the majority of their colleagues. In the introductory sentences of his study, the reader discovers that this same question had already been asked another 35 years earlier (in the 1950s), when the potential use of black and white aerial photographs for forestry-related information needs in Central Europe was being considered. Finally, we present information regarding the use of remote sensing for forest inventory and monitoring, combined with recommendations where possible, and highlighting areas of opportunity for additional investigation.Īpproximately 35 years ago, Hildebrandt (1987) asked the question whether remote sensing in forestry should be considered as a ‘toy or a tool’. Our key recommendations concerning these three thematic areas include (1) a need to communicate and learn from success stories in those geographic regions where user uptake was successful due to multi-disciplinary collaborations supported by administrative incentives, (2) a shift from regional case studies towards studies addressing ‘real world’ problems focusing on forest attributes that match the spatial scales and thematic information needs of end users and (3) an increased effort to develop, communicate, and apply best-practices for map and model validation including an effort to inform current and future remote sensing scientists regarding the need for and the functionalities of these best practices. We particularly emphasize three recurrent themes: (1) user uptake, (2) technical challenges of remote sensing related to forest inventories and (3) challenges related to map validation. Herein, we highlight some key challenges that remote sensing research can address in the near future to further increase the acceptance, suitability and integration of remotely sensed data into operational forest inventory and monitoring programs. However, the pace and level of uptake of remote sensing technologies into operational forest inventory and monitoring programs varies notably by geographic region. Remote sensing has developed into an omnipresent technology in the scientific field of forestry and is also increasingly used in an operational fashion. ![]()
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