Geographic Information System Skills for Foresters and Natural Resource Managers

Geographic Information System Skills for Foresters and Natural Resource Managers provides a resource for developing knowledge and skills concerning GIS as it applies to forestry and natural resource management. This book helps readers understand how GIS can effectively be used by professional foresters and land managers to conduct spatial analyses or address management decisions. Through topics presented, readers will improve their ability to understand GIS data sources, identify GIS data types and quality, perform common spatial analysis processes, create GIS data, produce maps, and ultimately develop the skills necessary to use GIS analysis to answer real-world questions.

This book will be of great benefit to GIS users looking to directly apply techniques to real-world data or foresters and natural resource scientists who use GIS in their research.

Dr Merry is well-published and has nearly two decades of experience in using geographic information systems (GIS), satellite imagery, and aerial photography. She has Bachelor’s and Masters degrees in Geography from the University of Georgia. She is co-author of Mapping Human and Natural Systems, published by Academic Press. She has taught many continuing education courses for seasoned professionals on the use of GIS. She also has experience in developing an online continuing education course (introgps.uga.edu) and has led the data collection efforts for several human subject surveys. She is co-editor of Forest Plans of North America (Academic Press, 2015), and editor of the Proceedings of the Southern Forestry and Natural Resource Management GIS Conference (soforgis.uga.edu).

Pete Bettinger is a professor of forestry at the University of Georgia. He conducts research in applied forest management with particular emphasis on harvest scheduling, landscape planning, precision forestry, and geospatial technologies. Dr. Bettinger received Bachelor’s and Masters degrees in forestry from Virginia Tech, and a PhD in forest resources from Oregon State University. Dr. Bettinger worked for the forest industry in the southern and western United States and maintains this connection to forestry professionals through his leadership in the Southern Forestry and Natural Resource Management GIS Conference and other continuing education courses he regularly offers. Dr. Bettinger has published over 140 peer-reviewed journal articles and is a co-author of four books published by Academic Press, Forest Management and Planning, Introduction to Forestry and Natural Resources, Mapping Human and Natural Systems, and Forest Plans of North America. Dr. Bettinger is Deputy Coordinator for IUFRO Division 4.04.00 (Forest management planning). He is a member of the editorial boards of Forest Science, Journal of Sustainable Forestry, Journal of Forest Planning, European Journal of Forest Engineering, and Mathematical and Computational Forestry & Natural-Resource Sciences. In 2009, he was presented the Award of Excellence for Research and Development by the Southeastern Division of the Society of American Foresters. In 2016 he was presented the Creative Research Medal by the University of Georgia. In 2018, he was elected as a Fellow in the Society of American Foresters. Dr. Bettinger teaches introduction to forestry, forest planning, aerial photogrammetry, and field orientation and measurements courses at the University of Georgia. He has received five teaching awards from the University of Georgia for these activities.

Michael Crosby is Assistant Professor of GIS and Remote Sensing at Louisiana Tech University. He has 15 years experience in GIS and remote sensing applications related to the impacts of severe weather and climate change on forests, spatial modelling, and geographic education. He currently teaches courses in GIS, GPS, remote sensing, unmanned aerial vehicles, and spatial intelligence at Louisiana Tech. He received an A.A. from Jones County Junior College, a Bachelor’s degree in Geosciences (Meteorology) from Mississippi State University, a Masters degree in Geography from the University of Southern Mississippi, and a PhD in Forest Resources from Mississippi State University.

Dr. Boston received a Bachelor’s degree in forestry from Humboldt State University, and Masters and PhD degrees in forest engineering from Oregon State University. He obtained a JD from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Boston worked for the forest industry in the western United States, Europe and New Zealand. He was a principle in the GIS firm VESTRA Resources in 1988. Dr. Boston has published over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and is a co-author of four books published by Academic Press, Forest Management and Planning, Forest Plans of North America, Mapping of Human and Natural Systems, and Introduction to Forest Management and two with Springer, Forest Operations in the Tropics and Forest Road Operations in the Tropics. Dr. Boston is an editor of Mathematical and Computational Forestry & Natural-Resource Sciences. To our knowledge, he is the only person who has received teaching awards from three different university forestry programs.