Guidance

Learn how to manage your myForest account and properties.

Learn about the principles of woodland creation in myForest.

Learn about the principles of woodland management in myForest.

Learn how to use myForest's advanced mapping functionality.

Guidance under construction

Guidance under construction

Guidance under construction

Having mapped your compartments, sub-compartments, and/or features in myForest you may wish to export this mapping for varying reasons. Exporting your mapping is a quick and easy process, with myForest allowing you to export mapping in multiple file types using several projection types.

In providing three different file formats for exporting, we have created a versatile tool, which can function with other programs. Based upon where you intend to use the file would influence the format you might export it as. Another key difference is that GeoJSON and KML both export as a single file, whereas Shapefiles are several files which you have to zip.

You are able to export using the following file formats:

• Shapefiles;
• KML; or
• GeoJSON

Both projections EPSG:4326 and EPSG:3857 use the WGS84 reference system (this is a standard approximation model of the Earth's surface. EPSG:4326 coordinates are unprojected, giving you exact locations on the WGS84 spheroid (the latitude/longitude degrees which you may be familiar with). EPSG:3857 coordinates are projected onto a flat plane. This projection type is the standard used by web maps because the projection works fairly evenly across the globe. EPSG:27700 is the OS projection. It gives a nice consistent view of the UK but it is not advisable to use this projection outside the UK.

You are able to export using the following projection types:

• EPSG:4326 - WGS84 unprojected;
• EPSG:3857 - web mercator; or
• EPSG:27700 - British National Grid

Export use:
Depending on the reason for exporting your compartments, sub-compartments, and features, we may recommend a specific file format and projection type:

1. Launch the myForest App

Launching myForest, your default view will show the control bar (on the left hand side) and live view mapping (on the right hand side). You will be able to find the import tool in the control bar on the left hand side.

2. The Export Tool

In the control bar (left hand side) open the tools section and select the import tool. A pop-up will appear explaining what the import tool is, the types of files you are able to import, and whether you would like the file to be imported as a compartment, sub-compartment, or feature.

3. Select Your Export File Format and Projection Type

In the import tool pop-up you will be able to select whether you would like your file to be imported as a compartment, sub-compartment, or feature. You will also be present with a choose file button, allowing you to uploaded your desired item.

4. Export Your Mapping Data

Having decided the import type and uploaded the relevant file, click the green import button. Your import will automatically be added to the corresponding section in the control bar.

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In myForest all compartments, sub-compartments, and features which you have mapped will have specific geometries calculated and updated automatically. The geometries calculated include length (m), perimeter (m), and area (ha). There may, however, be instances where you do not wish to map an item in order to measure the distance between two points.

The measure tool allows you to quickly and accurately measure the distance between two specific points located on your live view mapping, through a sequence of consecutive clicks.

The measure tool is located in the tools section of the control bar.

1. Launch the myForest App

Having launched the myForest app, you are able to measure the distance (m) between two locations on your live view mapping.

The measure tool can be found in the tools section of the control bar (bottom right of your screen).

2. Open the Measure Tool

The measure tool can be found in the tools section of the control bar (bottom right corner of your screen).

Click on the measure tool button.

3. Mark the Start Point

Clicking on the live view mapping, mark the desired starting location of the distance you would like to measure.

4. Live View Measuring

As you move your cursor around the live view mapping, you will notice a measure line appear alongside a tag indicating the distance the cursor is currently (m) from the starting point.

5. Mark the End Point

Click on the live view mapping, mark the desired ending location of the distance you would like to measure. You will notice the distance (m) is indicated on the tag next to the marked ending point.

6. Closing / Resetting the Measure Tool

In the control bar, under the tools section, you will notice the measure tool now says "Reset Measure". Clicking this button will close / reset the measure tool, removing the distance you have measured.

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Understanding how and when to use the snapping tool is essential to create detailed and accurate plans in myForest.

The snapping tool allows you to reduce mapping error through overlaps and gaps between mapped items. Snapping also enables you to map quickly, building upon your previously mapped items; this includes snapping to compartments, sub-compartments, features, RPA Land Parcels, buffers, and cut-outs. Within myForest you are able to snap to corners or edges, while also being able to adjust the level of sensitivity from 5 to 30m.

1. The Snapping Tool

Having begun mapping a compartment, sub-compartment, or feature on the live view mapping (regardless of whether you are mapping a new item, or editing an existing item). In the control bar you will find the snapping tool. The snapping tool allows you to select whether you would like to snap to corners, edges, or turn snapping off. You are also able to adjust the snapping sensitivity.

3. Adjusting the Snapping Sensitivity

Clicking on the snapping tool sensitivity option dropdown, it is possible to select whether you would like the snapping tool to be highly sensitive (5m) or less sensitive (30m) with varying options in-between.

4. Snapping Example

Having selected that snapping should occur to existing edges, and to a sensitivity of 20 meter, while mapping the perimeter of this item the snapping options selected have allowed accurate and fast mapping to occur, while preventing overlaps and gaps in the item mapping.

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Having mapped compartments, sub-compartments, and polygon features within myForest, you may wish to remove a certain interior area from an item. This could be for several reasons (for example, to remove an area which will not be planted during a creation project).

Creating a cut-out is a quick and easy process, with the relative item geometry being automatically updated based upon the new properties, e.g. compartment area (ha).

Being able to use cut-outs effectively is a key skill when creating effective forest creation and management plans within myForest where the automated calculations are required to be detailed and accurate.

1. Access the Edit Mapping Function

To begin adding a new cut-out to a compartment, sub-compartment, or polygon feature, you will need to launch the edit mapping option.

You can select the edit mapping option by clicking on the three dots found in the row of the item you would like to edit the mapping for.

2. Creating a New Cut-Out

Having launched the edit mapping function, at the bottom of the control bar you will find the cut-out section.

Using the add cut-out button, you can begin drawing a new cut-out.

3. Map you Cut-Out

In a similar fashion to mapping you compartments, sub-compartments, and polygon features, you can map you cut-out using consecutive clicks on the live view mapping.

Once you have completed mapping your cut-out click back in the red circle marking where you initiated the mapping process.

4. Cancel Cut-Out Mapping

At any point in time, you are able to cancel the mapping of your cut-out by clicking the "Cancel Cut-out" button found in the control bar.

5. Your New Cut-Out

Having mapped your cut-out, it will appear in the control bar, under the Cut-outs section.

You will notice the cut-out area (ha) has been automatically calculated.

You are able to edit the mapping of your cut-out in a similar way to editing any other mapping, clicking, dragging, and dropping the desired corner to its new location.

6. Deleting Your Cut-Out

You are able to delete your cut-out at any time.

Clicking the delete button in the cut-out row you wish to delete.

7. Creating Multiple Cut-Outs

You are able to create several cut-outs per compartment, sub-compartment, or polygon feature.

All cut-outs will appear in the cut-out section in the control bar.

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Having created a forest creation and/or management plan using any of the templates freely available in the myForest app, you may wish to keep an archived record of each version of the document throughout the project lifespan. Archived plans can be marked as approved by the relevant forest authority adding greater clarity to the document status.

Document version control is an integral part of carrying out effective project management and is highly advised throughout the forest creation and management process. The Archive tool allows you to store an un-editable copy of each version which is clearly dated and stored for easy accessibility and downloading whenever required.

1. Launch the myForest App

Having launched the myForest app you will be able to add forest creation and management plans to your archive folder.

Please note that in order to add plans to your archive you must have first created a plan within the myForest app.

2. Achieving an Existing Plan

From the list of forest creation and/or management plans you have created within myForest, click the three dots on the item row you wish to add to your archive.

From the drop down menu select the "add to archive" option.

3. Has Your Plan Been Approved?

Depending on the type of plan you wish to add to your archive you will be asked if the plan has been approved by the relative forest authority.

Please note, if answered yes, the approved plan will be marked as such when added to your archive.

4. The Relevant Forest Authority

Depending on the type of plan you are trying to add, the relevant forest authority will automatically change.

5. Adding your Plan

Selecting the appropriate answer, click the green "add document" button.

6. Your Plan Will Appear in the Arhive

Having added your document to the archive, your document will now be visible in the control bar under the archive section.

This document will no longer be editable, but you can download it at any time.

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myForest Tutorial - The Archive Tool

In this myForest Tutorial you will learn about the archive tool and how best it can be used.

Having created a forest creation and/or management plan using any of the templates freely available in the myForest app, you may wish to keep an archived record of each version of the document throughout the project lifespan. Archived plans can be marked as approved by the relevant forest authority adding greater clarity to the document status.

Document version control is an integral part of carrying out effective project management and is highly advised throughout the forest creation and management process. The Archive tool allows you to store an un-editable copy of each version which is clearly dated and stored for easy accessibility and downloading whenever required.

VIDEO COMING SOON!

Sub-compartment General Data is used to record site-related information, with the ability to add custom typed records in Notes, and a visual record in Photos.

Click on the ⋮ menu beside your Sub-compartment in the control panel (click on the Compartment first if you cannot see your Sub-compartment), and select Edit General Data.

General data provides the option to record:

• Designations - eg. tree preservation orders, scheduled ancient monuments. These are used to pre-populate fields in Management and Creation Downloads in the control panel.
• Soil Textures - eg. clay soil, sandy loam.
• Notes - record additional information under General Notes, and add Annual Notes to build up a record of observations and activities over time.
• Photos - upload .jpg, .png or .gif image files here. Include photographs, aerial photos, screenshots, maps or documents.

See the individual tippies on each tab for more help.

Sub-compartment Creation Data is used to record establishment-related information, useful for completing woodland creation plans and grant applications, as well as for planning operations, and providing a permanent record of trees planted. Data are automatically copied into the relevant sections of Creation Downloads in the control panel.

Click on the ⋮ menu beside your Sub-compartment in the sidebar (click on the Compartment first if you cannot see your Sub-compartment), and select Edit Creation Data.

Creation data provides the option to record:

• Details - eg. current land use, ground preparation, tree protection.
• Inventory - tree species, plant type, size, year planted, predicted yield class.
• Stocking - stocking densities and tree quantities are automatically calculated from x- and y-spacing measurements.
• Plant information - record plant traceability details.
• Work Programme - this is split into:
  • Establishment Operations.
  • Silvicultural Operations - post initial planting process, including weeding, beating up, thinning.
  • Other Operations - additional work such as deer impact assessments, ecological surveys.

See the individual tippies on each tab for more help.

Sub-compartment Management Data is used for recording woodland-related information useful for management purposes, with the ability to add data chronologically. Data are automatically copied into the relevant sections of Management Downloads in the control panel.

Click on the ⋮ menu beside your Sub-compartment in the Compartments section of the sidebar (click on the Compartment first if you cannot see your Sub-compartment), and select Edit Management Data.

Management data provides the option to record inventory data, carry out mensuration calculations, produce felling proposals (England and Scotland) and complete a Work Programme.

You have two choices for entering your inventory data.

Either (method A),
Enter plot data to enter individual tree measurements from inventory sample plots. You will need the plot size, and the species, height and diameter (DBH) for each tree.
myForest calculates the percentages and stocking for each species, basal areas and volumes.

Or (method B),
Enter completed inventory data to enter previously calculated or estimated figures for overall species percentages, mean DBH, mean height, stocking and basal area.
myForest calculates the stocking for each species, basal areas and volumes.

• Plot Data
  Method A: enter individual tree measurements from inventory sample plots, plus year planted (optional) and tree form (optional).


• Inventory
  Method A: view calculated summary data by species and year planted, and enter yield class (optional).
  Method B: enter your own mensuration data by species and year planted, plus tree form and yield class ( both optional).


• Stocking
  Method A: view calculated stocking by species and DBH range.
  Method B: enter overall stocking and view mean DBH, height and stocking for each species; enter your own basal areas or apply myForest estimated value.


• Volumes
  Method A: view calculated volumes by species and DBH range.
  Method B: view mean DBH, mean height and volume by species; enter your own species volumes or apply myForest estimated values.


• Felling
  Enter proposed felling details to apply for a felling licence (England) or felling permission (Scotland).
  Download a pre-populated Felling Licence Online zipfile or Plan of Operations (England), or create a pre-populated Felling Permission Application (Scotland), in the Management section of the control panel.


• Work Programme
  enter details of planned or completed activities, to build up a record of operations in each Sub-compartment. This forms part of the Plan of Operations for use in England and available to all users, and a standalone Work Programme spreadsheet available to those on a Paid Plan. Both can be downloaded in the Management Downloads section of the control panel.

See the individual tippies on each tab for more help.

Having mapped your compartments, sub-compartments, and features you may wish to create a downloadable PDF map. Within myForest you are able to create several maps which can be downloaded easily at any time.

When creating a pdf map within myForest all key components such as scale, north arrow, copyright requirements, and your company logo (if uploaded), will be added automatically. Ensuring that your map meets all the minimum requirements when submitting to your relevant authority.

Please note, you will be required to develop several maps as part of any forest creation and/or management grant or plan. Depending upon the end-use of each map, there may be differing requirements for map layout and content. Please refer to specific guidance for each map you may be required to make.

1. Click the "Add Map" button;

2. Click on the map "Options" button;

3. Select "Edit Map" option;

4. Add / Edit your map title.

5. Adjust the map scale;

6. Adjust the map margin;

7. Adjust the map paper size;

8. Adjust the map paper orientation;

9. Select your desired base map;

10. Adjust the map view frame.

11. Creating a new layer;

12. Adjusting the layer title;

13. Adjusting the layer fill and opacity;

14. Adjusting the layer line colour and width;

15. Adding mapping to you layer;

16. Developing multiple layers to your map;

17. Adding existing labels;

18. Adding new labels;

19. Adding label anchors;

20. Adding data layers;

21. Adding extra content;

22. Save your map;

23. Preview your map;

24. Save and close the map editor;

25. Downloading your map;

26. Confirming your download;

27. Your downloaded Map.

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myForest Tutorial - Creating PDF Map Outputs

In this myForest Tutorial you will learn how to create and construct a downloadable pdf map.

Having mapped your compartments, sub-compartments, and features you may wish to create a downloadable PDF map. Within myForest you are able to create several maps which can be downloaded easily at any time.

When creating a pdf map within myForest all key components such as scale, north arrow, copyright requirements, and your company logo (if uploaded) will be added automatically. Ensuring that your map meets all the minimum requirements when submitting to your relevant authority.

Please note, you will be required to develop several maps as part of any forest creation and/or management grant or plan. Depending upon the end-use of each map, there may be differing requirements for map layout and content. Please refer to specific guidance for each map you may be required to make.

VIDEO COMING SOON!

As you work through the forest creation and / or management process, you may require specific help to understand certain aspects. Through the myForest app, you will find help icons providing detailed and specific information to help you get the most from the platform while also highlighting useful external resources where appropriate.

Through the myForest app, help and guidance is clearly displayed by the blue help icons. Clicking on the help icons will generate pop-ups providing guidance text and links.

Click the help icon to reveal specific and detailed information:

The UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) is the reference standard for sustainable forest management across the UK, and applies to all woodland, regardless of who owns or manages it. The standard ensures that international agreements and conventions on areas such as sustainable forest management, climate change, biodiversity and the protection of water resources are applied in the UK.

The UKFS Checker is a benchmarking tool for woodland owners and managers to self-assess the stewardship of their woodland against the UK Forestry Standard. It does this by measuring awareness of sustainable woodland management and tracking progress towards meeting the key elements of the Standard. Analysing your woodland stewardship methodically is a great way to improve your management practices in accordance with the UKFS.

The UKFS Checker will provide you with a detailed report and certificate based on the answers you provide to 36 questions. Each question is matched to ecosystem services (e.g. carbon storage, habitat provision, flood alleviation, products and other public benefits) that each of the specified management actions are deemed to enhance.

Click on the beside the UKFS Checker menu in the Control Panel to create a new assessment and get started. You can save your progress and come back to it at any time.

Once you have completed an assessment, click on Submit to generate your certificate and report. The certificate presents your rating from basic through to gold. The report summarises your answers and gives more guidance on how to improve your rating.

Submitted assessments are stored in the myForest database, allowing you to refer back to them and build up a record of your progress. By furthering your knowledge and altering your woodland management planning and practices, and repeating the assessment, you can improve your rating all the way up to Gold.

The UKFS Checker is also a great way to learn more about the UK Forestry Standard, and how best to apply those principles when creating, or reviewing, your management plan.

UK Forestry Standard

The UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) is the reference standard for sustainable forest management across the UK, and applies to all woodland, regardless of who owns or manages it. The standard ensures that international agreements and conventions on areas such as sustainable forest management, climate change, biodiversity and the protection of water resources are applied in the UK.

Prior to creating a Scottish Forestry compliant woodland creation plan you may be required to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This requirement varies depending on the size of your proposal and any sensitivities which your site may have.

The EIA Quiz is a tool developed in collaboration with Scottish Forestry to support myForest users to quickly determine whether they are required to complete an EIA prior to submitting their woodland creation operational plan, and should one be required, the next steps they must take. The quiz contains all the necessary support and guidance to ensure users feel confident in their next steps and how to complete them. In total the quiz takes no longer than five minutes, should all the information required be readily available.

1. To begin the EIA quiz, click the "Creation EIA Quiz" button;

2. A pop-up will appear providing additional information, click the green "Start Quiz" button to begin;

3. The EIA Quiz will appear;

4. Provide the intended forest creation area;

5. Provide the adjacent forest creation area;

6. Select all sensitivities that apply; the necessary next steps will appear in a pop-up;

7. Return to the standard view.

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myForest Tutorial - Environmental Impact Assessment Quiz

In this myForest Tutorial you will learn what the Environmental Impact Assessment tool is, and how to use it.

Prior to creating a Scottish Forestry compliant woodland creation plan you may be required to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This requirement varies depending on the size of your proposal and any sensitivities which your site may have.

The EIA Quiz allows you to quickly assess whether you are required to complete a Screening Opinion Request Form and accompanying Issues Log prior to any woodland creation proposal being submitted. The quiz takes no longer than 5 minutes to complete and can help you understand the requirements needed for your woodland creation proposal to be approved.

VIDEO COMING SOON!

What is Forest Lab?

Forest Lab is a project within myForest which enables landowners and scientists to exchange information about woodlands.

We know that woodland owners and managers often express concern about how to manage their woodlands in the rapidly changing environment. Sylva Foundation and Forest Research are working together to increase knowledge exchange between myForest users and forest scientists. We have developed new tools within myForest to enable users to collect and share data from their woodlands that could help support forestry science and how the appropriate use of knowledge could benefit woodland management.

Why should I take part?

Our aim is for Forest Lab to contribute to society’s understanding of critically important issues affecting the resilience and future of our trees and woodlands. We hope that scientists will be more attune to the needs of landowners, and that landowners will be kept uptodate about emerging issues, technologies and opportunities to improve their woodland creation or management.

Specific benefits of collaboration to myForest users includes access to specialist knowledge to support site-specific management decisions. Participants will also gain information and research results directly as a result of their contributions, for example learning how their woodland’s growth or resilience might compare to others nearby.

Benefits to forest scientists are access to knowledge, information and data about many different woodlands. We are calling this project Forest Lab.

Engagement Agreement

With our partners Forest Research (FR) we have developed an ‘Engagement Agreement’ which sets out the joint commitments of Sylva Foundation and FR working together with volunteer ‘stewardship scientists’ participating in Forest Lab. It outlines the general expectations of all parties, and provides examples of commitments which may exist within specific Forest Lab projects. This agreement is an important step in the sign-up process.

Please read the Engagement Agreement before signing up to any projects. You will be asked to confirm that you have read this and accept its terms on signing up to each project.

Data privacy and data sharing

Taking part in Forest Lab is optional for myForest users. To deliver Forest Lab we collaborate with Forest Research as an external third party. Unless consent is clearly given by a user, no personal data will be shared with this or any other third party. Separate consent options are provided in your Forest Lab Account Settings. More information is provided in the ‘Engagement Agreement’ and under ‘Forest Lab settings’.

How to sign up to Forest Lab

If you are not already a myForest user, the first step is to register here https://myforest.sylva.org.uk/register

You will need to have mapped at least one management sub-compartment prior to signing up to Forest Lab.

For information on how to do this, click on “Compartments” in the Control Panel and then click on the icon.

Once you have mapped a sub-compartment, just click on “Forest Lab” to begin.

Some Forest Lab projects may require you to have certain tree species listed in your sub-compartment inventory to be eligible to take part (e.g. oak trees to take part in the Oak Health project). Make sure you complete at least a basic inventory (e.g. species composition) which includes the appropriate tree species before you join any particular project with this restriction.

myForest is a powerful GIS (Geographical Information System) incorporating advanced digital mapping capabilities with a dedicated forestry geospatial database (geospatial means the data is linked to a location).

There are a number of key concepts related to maps and mapping in myForest:

• Base Map is a user-selectable base map or aerial view that is used as a point of reference for creating your own maps. As well as providing a guide to digitising the various mapping components, base map can be used as a backdrop to your own, customised output maps.
• Mapping Components are the digitised elements, or geometries, that form the basis of your own myForest geographical database. They consist of points, lines and polygons. Two special types of polygons in myForest are Compartments and Sub-compartments (more below). The third type is Features, which can be used to show any other type of feature.
• The Live View Mapping is where you can see all of your mapping components overlaid on your chosen base map. Here you can create, edit, show and hide your mapping components and labels, and overlay any useful data layers from the wide selection available. Any changes made to mapping components here - for example a change in Sub-compartment area - will be automatically reflected in the database.
• Data Layers can at first glance look like a kind of map, but they are in fact just a set of points, lines or polygons, showing additional geospatial information, for example the presence of constraints such as National Parks or SSSIs. They are created by third parties and made available to myForest users to inform their woodland management decisions.
• myForest Maps is where you can create, save and export (as a pdf) customised maps, projected onto a standard map grid, for printing and sharing. You can select what information to show, the colours, line thickness, opacity, scale, page size, labelling, base map, data layers and so on.

Compartments and Sub-compartments are used to spatially sub-divide woodland into management units. The practice is a critical part of woodland management and planning, and underpins how you go about mapping your woodland and storing data. How you do it will depend on a number of factors including the scale and complexity of the site, the presence of special features or constraints, and your objectives.

Compartments are broad geographic areas of woodland, typically bounded by fixed features such as rivers, property boundaries or access tracks.

Sub-compartments are discrete areas within a Compartment which may be distinct in terms of their woodland type, permanent boundaries (or infrastructure), or their management objectives. Changes in species, age class, ground conditions etc typically form the divisions between them.

Sub-compartments are a fundamental concept in sustainable forest management, and are key to producing a coherent, holistic management plan.

A logical Sub-compartment structure is vital for collating detailed data in a systematic way, for planning operations including applying for felling licences, applying for funding, and for producing woodland management and woodland creation plans. Compartments and Sub-compartments are identified with numbers and letters, eg 1a, 4c etc.

In myForest, site-specific data are recorded at the Compartment level, whilst woodland creation and management data are recorded at the Sub-compartment level.

myForest allows a high degree of flexibility in mapping and adding data to Sub-compartments. The mapping functions are powerful and at the same time quick and intuitive. The dedicated Sub-compartment database ensures forestry data is organised systematically, with the ability to build up a chronological record over time. Many of the built-in features of myForest including management plan templates, felling licence applications and operational plans are integrated with the database allowing seamless and time saving cross-referencing.

Once you have created and mapped your Sub-compartment, you can add data to it.

For further guidance see Help & Guidance (Sub-compartment General Data, Sub-compartment Creation Data, Sub-compartment Management Data).

Having an understanding of how much timber is in your woodland is fundamental to sustainable forest management in accordance with the UK Forestry Standard. In simple terms, an accurate inventory enables owners and land managers to plan harvesting operations and prepare budgets. However an inventory can be used for many purposes.

Some of these are:

• understanding how fast your trees are growing
• estimating carbon sequestration
• ensuring thinning interventions are sustainable
• marketing
• managing natural regeneration
• planning for resilience

Mensuration is the measurement of trees and forests. The main parameters are land area, stocking (the number of measurable trees per hectare), basal area (the breast height cross-sectional area of all the trees on a given area), and a measurement of timber volume. Basal area can be used to assess thinning intensity, and timber volume is obviously useful to know how much useable timber could be harvested, or how much carbon is stored in the tree stems.

Because it is impractical to measure every tree in a woodland, sample points or plots are usually used to estimate the number and sizes of trees in a forest or woodland. It is important that the sample is as representative of the population of trees as possible. This can be done through stratification into areas of similar characteristics, by spacing sample locations to ensure even coverage whilst avoiding bias, and by choosing an appropriate size and number of plots for the variability of the trees over the area.

In myForest, stratification is done by sub-compartment. If your existing sub-compartments are not sufficiently uniform, you may need to re-define them.

Other parameters include growth rates, tree heights and the proportions of different species and ages.

How inventory data are collected will depend on many factors. Professional foresters can often arrive at remarkably accurate estimates based on an experienced eye. On the other hand, small woodland owners may have the enthusiasm and the time to carry out detailed measurements.

myForest offers two different ways of entering your inventory data for a sub-compartment.

From the mensuration data you enter, myForest automatically calculates:

• basal area, derived by combining the mean DBH with the stocking.
• timber volume - for information on how volume is calculated, see Appendix A.

Bear in mind that the accuracy of the calculations is dependent on the accuracy of your data!

Inventory Data Entry

Method A: Enter Plot Data:

Use this method if you wish to record the information from sample plots. For each plot you will need to record:

• plot size
• species, diameter at breast height (this is at 1.3m above the ground and known as DBH) and height for each measurable tree in the plot (at least 7cm DBH).
• tree form - an assessment of shape and timber potential (optional)

The following is a brief description of the plot sampling methodology:

1. Locate sample plots of a suitable size (containing between 7 and 20 trees) and number (see below), evenly spaced through the sub-compartment. To avoid bias, walk a set number of paces in a given direction to arrive at the centre of each plot, or mark the plots on a map beforehand and navigate to each one.
2. Measure the height and dbh of every tree in each plot.

The number of sample plots varies according to the size of the sub-compartment and the variability of the trees. The following can be used as a guide and is taken from Forestry Commission Booklet 49 “Timber Measurement”:

Once you have measured all the sample plots in a sub-compartment, input the data into myForest.

myForest presents an Inventory summary for each combination of species and year planted:

• mean DBH
• height range
• range of tree forms (optional)
• yield class (optional)

myForest calculates the following on a per hectare and per sub-compartment basis:

• stocking by species
• stocking by species grouped by DBH range
• overall stocking (per hectare only)
• volume by species
• volume by species grouped by DBH range
• total volume
• basal area