Protection Forest Revision and Management Using Gis and Digital Surveying Techniques

The protection forest system for Taipei City, the capital of Taiwan, was established in 1907. The social and natural environment had changed drastically in the past few decades, however, the maps and cadastral records of these forests were not updated accordingly. In this study, digital surveying techniques were used to survey the boundaries, sample plots, and land use of the protection forests. Combining with the field survey data, a comprehensive spatial database consisting of topographic maps, digital orthoimage, digital elevation model, cadastre, and other related data was built for the protection forests. Moreover, in order to efficiently provide accurate and timely information for protection forest management and inventory, a geographic information system was developed using Microsoft Visual Basic, ArcView, and ArcIMS. The system has graphical user interface, and provides easy access for data inquiry, maintenance, updating, printing, and overlaying analysis, which can provide useful spatial information to facilitate decision making for protection forest management. The results indicate that the total area of protection forests is increased from 2,349 hectares to 2,539 hectares as compared to the original records. Among them, about 173 hectares were identified as improper land use areas such as croplands, man-made structures, and orchards. In addition, the administrative authority can use the system to manage the protection forests, and the general public can also access information regarding protection forests through the web-based GIS. The government and the general public share common communication platform, thereby they can jointly bring protection forests to function fully such that the goals of protecting land and soils, the public welfare, and maintaining good living environment can all be achieved.