Safis Area Estimation Techniques

-The Southern Annual Forest inventory System (SAFIS) is in various stages of implementation in 8 of the 13 southern states served by the Southern Research Station of the USDA Forest Service. Compared to periodic inventories, SAFIS requires more rapid generation of land use and land cover maps. The current photo system for phase one area estimation has changed little over the last four decades and provides area estimates within the precision requirements of the FIA program. A stated goal of the national FIA program is to eventually replace photo interpretation with digital satellite classiflcation because the photo system cannot produce maps of forest and nonforest area, and it takes an enormous amount of time to photo interpret the phase one photo plots. Using automated classification procedures for TM satellite data, we anticipate that the time to complete phase one will decline and wall-to-wall maps will be available. In the interim period of switching to satellite data, the photo system must be modified to provide current estimates of inventory. A method -being used by Southern FL4 is documented.