A questionnaire-based review of the operational use of remotely sensed data by national forest inventories

The operational use of remotely sensed data by NFI programmes is illustrated for three case studies: a case study for Switzerland focuses on digital aerial photography, a case study for Finland focuses on spaceborne sensor data for small area estimation, and a case study for the USA focuses on spaceborne sensor data for increasing the precision of large area estimates. Although use of remotely sensed data by NFI programmes may remain region-specific and some approaches are not readily transferable, generally applicable good practice guidelines were formulated on the basis of the questionnaire responses and the case studies. These guidelines are intended to promote better use of limited financial resources and to increase the accuracy and precision of NFI estimates.