BackSwedish Forest Inventory Selects Allegro MX
1 Mar 2010
First started 87 years ago, the Swedish National Forest Inventory is preparing for the upcoming national forest inventory annual survey of Swedish land area in 2011 and the Allegro MX will be there. Field crews will use 58 Allegro MXs in the 2011 annual National Forest Inventory. “The Allegro MX provides improved capability in communication and synchronization required by our new data collection system along with the ruggedness, ease of use, and level of service we relied on with the Allegro CE,” says Dr. Jonas Fridman, Head of the Swedish Forest Inventory, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Forestry.
Since 1923, the Swedish National Forest Inventory has supplied data for strategic planning of forestry utilization both on a regional and national level, monitoring environmental status, and research and education. In our rapidly changing world, this inventory provides a wealth of information for responsible decision making on a regional, national, and global basis. This year during an evaluation of the Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences, international experts recognized the Swedish National Inventory as one of the world’s leading national inventories in terms of methodology and implementation, and they recommended the planning and implementation strategy used by the Swedish NFI as a blueprint for other inventories worldwide.
The level of computerization involved in the forest inventory is high – not only in the office but also out in the forest. Forest inventory crews depend on handheld computers to collect, store, and manage the wealth of data collected. Dr. Fridman describes the use of mobile computing devices, “In 1983 we went from punch-cards to handheld data collectors. We started with Micronic (450 and 900), shifted to Husky Hunter in 1993, and since 2003 we have used the Allegro CE. In a project for the new data collecting system planned for the 2011 field season, our decision was to continue with the Allegro but to upgrade to the Allegro MX.”
Dr. Fridman explains that, “the Swedish Forest Inventory selected the Allegro MX as their rugged field computer for the 2011 inventory based on past experience with the Allegro CE, including its excellent form factor (one hand managed), IP67 rating, functionality, and service from Haglof Sweden. The Allegro MX, with Windows Mobile 6.1 and integrated WiFi and Bluetooth, was selected because it supported the new software, developed in-house, where communication/synchronization among three Allegros on the same sample plot required an updated OS and development environment.” Fridman adds, “The upgrade is not at all needed due to technical malfunctions of our Allegro CEs, I have to mention!”
The scope of the annual inventory may seem daunting, yet the inventory team accomplishes it in a single season due to dedicated field crews, carefully planned and tested processes, and reliable tools. “The inventory is a systematic cluster sample inventory comprising all land and lake area in Sweden, and includes all ownership categories. It includes 13,500 sample plots organized into 530 temporary tracts and 830 permanent tracts.” All types of land are included in the survey, including national parks and natural preserves. The most detailed information collected concerns forest land. The survey is a part of the official statistics of Sweden.
With excellent planning, extensive training and testing, the crews are ready for the field season. Fridman describes the fieldwork, “Field teams hired for the season consist of one team leader and two assistants. Generally they start at 7am, completing field work for one or two tracts (N or S Sweden respectively), and then return to their lodging. A normal work day is 10 hours. The field crew navigates to the sample plots with GPS. On permanent plots, the position of the plot and each tree in the plot is discretely recorded. Information collected on each plot is strictly defined in the Field Inventory Manual. Data are collected on the tree and shrub layer, ground vegetation, humus and mineral soil layer, site conditions and position in the landscape.”
A key feature planned for the new data collection system in 2011 will improve data integrity and productivity while at the sample plot. The new system was developed using .Net Compact Framework, Windows Mobile 6.1, SQL Server Compact Edition 3.0 and XML. Fridman describes, “This feature allows communication and synchronization of three handhelds that will lead to the same database in all three handhelds when work is completed on a sample plot. Since ID-variables are registered in the team-leaders' Allegro and then synchronized to the other two this also leads to avoidance of conflicts.”
“At the end of the field day, the crews send their data from the Allegros to a laptop and data are then transferred to a CD which is sent by mail to our HQ in Umeå, North Sweden, once a week.” Fridman and his teams are preparing for another successful inventory in 2011. The Allegro MX will be an integral tool that the field crews rely on for their field computing device. For more information about the Swedish Forest Inventory visit http://www-nfi.slu.se/.
Update — March 2012 In October 2011, the Swedish National Forest Inventory field season was completed and resulted in the successful measurement of 21,000 sample plots and 110,000 trees (living and dead) using the Allegro MX Field PC. The efficiency and reliability of the hardware and software exceeded expectations, resulting in improved data quality and reduced amount of time for post-processing.
The graphical user interface (GUI) will be further improved before the next field season begins with recommendations from the field staff, and the system will be fully developed in time for the 2013 field season. This will allow three Allegro MXs to be running simultaneously on sample plots for the full integration of the Swedish National Forest Inventory and the Swedish Forest Soil Inventory.
