..bringing the power of
spatial technology to your business!
Tasmania, like many other jurisdictions richly endowed with forested lands, recognises
the many benefits they represent to both local and global communities.
The independent Tasmanian Forest Practices Board has the responsibility of ensuring
forests are managed to optimise community and environmental benefits on a sustainable
basis. To this end, the Board maintains a "Forest Practices Code". This document
is aimed at forest managers. It comprises conceptual and practical guidelines to enable
the planning and operation of activities, consistent with these objectives.
On this page you will find illustrated examples showing how the private sector is
working to enhance the level of expertise currently provided by public agencies, to
meet the significant challenges of sustainable forest management.
This aerial photograph of a southern Tasmanian forest shows planned timber
harvesting conducted in the late 1990's.
The Code was used as the basis for planning the
operations. Forest Practices Officers are responsible for implementation of the Code.
Resource and technical constraints tend to confine their assessments to only basic
information, largely the interpretation of published 1:25,000 topographic maps.
This is the 1:25,000 map for the area shown in the photograph. Notice the
extent of the defined rivers and creeks, as these are an essential consideration in
harvest planning, requiring the reservation of buffer strips in order to protect water
quality values and riparian vegetation. Unfortunately the drainage networks tends to be
incompletely or inaccurately defined in forested areas..
To address this fundamental weakness, MapMakers have written sophisticated
equations for use in GIS and desktop mapping applications. These require only a model of
the landscape surface (a digital elevation model or DEM), to generate a complete drainage
network AND classify each stream according to the definitions stipulated in the Code.
Notice how accurately the generated watercourses are classified. The
purple coloured creeks are Class 4
(machinery exclusion zone), the green are Class 3
(a 20 m buffer), and the blue are Classes 1 and 2
(30 or 40 m buffer).
Existing watercourse information from topographic maps can be classified
just as easily! This example shows existing 1:25,000 digital drainage features for the
same area, defined and coloured according to the buffer width required by the Code. In
addition we can see steep slopes susceptible to erosion during wet weather..
Click the
image to see take a virtual helicopter flight (600K) over the logging area..!
For the first time, forest operations can be planned from a sound
scientific basis, as illustrated by the logging plan in this map.
If you would like to know how MapMakers can help you or your organisation
better manage our valuable forest resources, simply complete the form below, call
MapMakers direct on + 61 3 6334 1774 or E-mail
us.
Please note that most of the images on our site have been generated primarily
for hard copy, and therefore might not display optimally on your terminal.
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