SIPAFIT

General System description

System name: Sistema Informativo Provinciale per l’Assestamento Forestale in Trentino

Acronym: SIPAFIT

Brief overview

SIPAFIT is the forest management system used by the Forest Service of Trentino Province articulated in several sub-systems (and relative instruments and tools) which support the different steps of the management decision chain. In the following table the sub-systems - which support the different steps of the management decision chain – are described.

Forest management phase	SIPAFIT sub-system	Remarks
Correction of forest and forest compartments boundaries	Geodatabase, mobileGIS software	Using sampling methods, it is essential a precise knowledge of the extension and position of the forest elements (compartments, stands…).
Production of the “forest unit” map	Geodatabase, mobileGIS software, LiDAR (CHM) data, digital orthophotos, forest type map, other ancillary layers	This phase is essential to organize a standardized description of the forest and to build the strata on which the sample network will be launched
Dimensioning the sample size	SAMSIZE (VBA in Excel/Access environment), forest strata map, data entry by the user	This tool allows to produce a proper distribution of the sample among the strata according to the expected uncertainties. It is possible to simulate different sampling scenarios, in terms of forest structure variability and complexity, and exploitation temporal proximity
Creating the sample network	SAMSIZE outputs, geodatabase, .LAUNCHER SW tool (Model Builder and Python in ArcGIS environment).	It is possible to choose between random or systematic (on a squared grid) sample distribution, with different density among the strata
Ground inventory	.LAUNCHER outputs, RELASKOPE mobileGIS SW (VBscript and applet programming in ESRI Arcpad environment).
Inventory data control and processing	.CONTROL and .PROCESS SW tools (VBA in Excel/Access environment)
Result reporting	.REPORT SW tool (VBA in Access environment); thematic maps in vector and raster format

Scope of the system

SIPAFIT integrates statistical and sampling methods with computer and technological resources allowing an effective georeferenced description of the main (both dendroauxometric and structural) forest parameters of the managed forest stands. SIPAF allows simulation of different scenarios in terms of forest stratification, inventory strategies and sampling intensity.

System origin

Forest administration of the Province of Trento (North-Eastern Italian Alps, 400,000 ha of forest area, more than 50% of the province total area) has recently changed its inventory system from total census (full callipering, which had been progressively reduced in area, for cost reasons) to sampling methods (Scrinzi et al., 2011). Besides, the needs for a modern and efficient forest management require more information about an overall “description” of the forest, but at the same time can tolerate less accuracy in timber production estimates. A comprehensive system was developed to support the forest managers, the forest owners and the consultants (professionals who perform forest management plans), in each step of the forest planning. SIPAF and its sub-systems were initially tested on a pilot management plan in 2009, and then had several changes and improvements to tackle the problems met. A total of 12 experts were involved in system design, implementation and testing (5 researchers, 4 foresters from the Forest Service and 3 consultants involved in plan preparation). During this first period of application, a number of meetings and workshops has been realized with all the users of the system. The tools have been operatively used since 2009 by the forest managers of Forest Service in the Trentino Province, and therefore their users have extended from researchers to consultants and to other stakeholders (i.e. managers and technicians of the municipalities which are the public forest owners).

Support for specific issues

SIPAFIT support consultants in field surveys, allowing an effective georeferenced description of the main (both dendroauxometric and structural) forest parameters, it support forest managers in inventory data control and processing and it support forest manager in result reporting.

Support for specific thematic areas of a problem type

• Forest planning.
• Territorial planning.

Capability to support decision making phases

• Intelligence: the system uses a fully automatic, congruent, progressive and recordable procedure.
• Design: forest planner input data in the inventory phase
• Choice: results give quantitative dendroauxometric parameters
• Monitor: a field test is implemented by the forest managers in the forest surveyed by the consultants.

Typical spatial extent of application

The typical spatial extent of application is the forest management plan. The spatial unit for the output depends on what extension data input refer (the forest subjected to the planning process). Definitely we can say that the typical spatial extent of application is the single real property scale.

Forest data input

The forest data input are dendrometric parameters collected during the field surveys (inventory phase).

Type of information input from user (via GUI)

Geographic data are input from user.

Forest models

The forest models are yield models in particular volume estimation models used in the forest management planning of Trentino Forest Service.

Social models

The forest owners are public institutions, such as municipalities, administrations that manage goods of civic use, forest agencies, so they non-industrial forest owners and their goal is the land and forest protection this means that the forest exploitation is made in respect of forestry.

Definition of management interventions

The definition of management interventions is made by the consultants who perform the forest plan in agreement with the forest owner.

Typical temporal scale of application

Planning and operational level.

Types of decisions supported

• Management and silvicultural actions.
• Strategic decisions.
• Operating control decisions.

Decision-making processes and models

SIPAFIT is a system in all respects and the results that outcome hierarchy from one sub-system are preparatory for the sub-system that follows, so each element is not considered to be independent of all the others, therefore the decision criteria are accordingly not considered to be independent of one another, and the alternatives are not considered to be independent of the decision criteria and of each other.

Types of outputs

The outputs of SIPAFIT are quantitative parameters that described the forest from the dendrometric and productive point of view. The outputs are also thematic maps built by GIS.

Spatial analysis capabilities

SIPAFIT runs in a spatial context with no neighbourhood interrelations and at forest level as spatial scale (de facto the spatial scale corresponds to the extension of forest owned by the public administration).

Abilities to address interdisciplinary, multi-scaled, and political issues

At the moment SIPAFIT addresses specifically forestry issues, it produces results for decision makers operating at the unique forest spatial scale. It facilitates negotiation among the forest owner, the Trentino Forest Service and the consultants who performed the forest plan.

System requirements

SIPAFIT runs on Microsoft Windows environment, and it requires MS Access and ESRI GIS for the geographic data processing.

Architecture and major DSS components

SIPAFIT is a modular system.

Usage

Forest management and planning.

Computational limitations

No limitations.

User interface

The user interface is different according to the sub-system: in some cases the interface is typical of the ESRI GIS environment (ESRI Arcpad environment), in some cases the interface are Access tables that the user ha to fill, in some cases the interface are MS Excel table.

Documentation and support

The whole description of the characteristics, functioning and usage of SIPAFIT and its sub-system are described in Scrinzi et al., 2011.

Installation

The installation is different in relation to the sub-system.

Cited references

Scrinzi G., Clementele F., Colle G., Farruggia C., Floris A., Torresan C., 2011. L’inventario dendrometrico nella nuova pianificazione forestale aziendale trentina (NPFAT). © 2011 Provincia Autonoma di Trento – Servizio Foreste e Fauna. ISBN 978-88-7702-322-3.

External resources

• Wolynski, A., Zanin, M., Scrinzi, G. 2009. Revisione della pianificazione forestale in Trentino a cinquant’anni dall’adozione della selvicoltura naturalistica. Atti del Terzo Congresso Nazionale di Selvicoltura. Taormina (ME), 16-19 Ottobre 2008. Accademia Italiana di Scienze Forestali, Firenze, p. 928-932.
• Colle G, Clementel F, Floris A, Marzullo L, Scrinzi G, 2010. Strumenti evoluti di mobile GIS a supporto del monitoraggio e della pianificazione forestale. Forest@ 7: 148-157 [online: 2010-07-30] URL: http://www.sisef.it/forest@/?doi=10.3832/efor0622-007.
• Scrinzi G., Clementel F., Colle G., Floris A., Galvagni D., Gecele S., Marzullo L., 2008 - Soluzioni statistico-matematiche, informatiche e tecnologie per la nuova pianificazione forestale aziendale trentina. III Congresso Nazionale di Selvicoltura, Taormina 15-18 ottobre 2008. Accademia Italiana di Scienze Forestali, Firenze, p. 915-920.